Investigating new psychoactive substances and emerging drug threats

What we are doing

We monitor novel illicit drug markets, engaging with national and international drug early warning systems to rapidly identify emerging threats; develop and apply analytical chemistry methods to identify those drugs; and apply bioanalytical test methods to ensure that they and their metabolites can be detected in toxicological samples following consumption. Working with a range of partners we evaluate the harms of these substances, alone and in combination. We take both a highly reactive and a pre-emptive/predictive approach to emerging drug threats  

Why we are doing it

Nationally and Internationally, drug-related deaths rates are on the increase and drug-related deaths are becoming more complex, often involving poly-substance use and increasingly, the use of potent novel psychoactive substances. Illicit drug markets are global in their reach and are highly inter-connected. Legislative changes in one region can have profound effects on the drugs detected on the street on the other side of the world. In an unprecedented shift in international drug markets, over 900 new psychoactive substances (NPS), designed to mimic the effects of traditional drugs of abuse but often much more potent and harmful, have emerged in the last 12 years. These have been particularly harmful to vulnerable communities including problematic drug users, rough-sleeping and the prison populations. The drug market requires constant monitoring, evaluation and a pre-emptive, predictive approach to illicit drug discovery.

How will we do it

We use state of the art mass spectrometry, optical spectroscopy and ion mobility spectroscopy to detect and characterise drugs we evaluate existing analytical methods, and develop new methods to identify these substances in the field and in the laboratory. We work in partnership with external agencies to study drug market evolution to ensure that detection methods designed to identify new substances, limit supply and reduce harms remain effective. We work closely with partners in the prison service to provide early warning and harm reduction information on NPS, particularly synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists, colloquially known as 'spice' and novel benzodiazepines, rapidly sharing information on emerging drug threats. We collaborate to provide pharmacological evaluation of novel drugs and to better understand their metabolism by the body after ingestion and their interactions with other drugs using a range of in vitro bioanalytical methods.

Published papers

A Systematic Study of the In Vitro Pharmacokinetics and Estimated Human In Vivo Clearance of Indole and Indazole-3-Carboxamide Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists Detected on the Illicit Drug Market (2021)

Brandon, A. M., Antonides, L. H., Riley, J., Epemolu, O., McKeown, D. A., Read, K. D., & McKenzie, C. (2021). 'A Systematic Study of the In Vitro Pharmacokinetics and Estimated Human In Vivo Clearance of Indole and Indazole-3-Carboxamide Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists Detected on the Illicit Drug Market.' Molecules, 26(5), [1396].

A transnational perspective on the evolution of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists market: Comparing prison and general populations (2021)

Norman, C, Halter, S, Haschimi, B, Acreman, D, Smith, J, Krotulski, AJ, Mohr, ALA, Logan, BK, NicDaéid, N, Auwärter, V & McKenzie, C 2021, 'A transnational perspective on the evolution of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists market: Comparing prison and general populations', Drug Testing and Analysis.

Activation of μ-opioid receptors by MT-45 (1-cyclohexyl-4-(1,2-diphenylethyl)piperazine) and its fluorinated derivatives (2020)

Baptista-Hon, DT, Smith, M, Singleton, S, Antonides, LH, Daeid, NN, McKenzie, C & Hales, TG 2020, 'Activation of μ-opioid receptors by MT-45 (1-cyclohexyl-4-(1,2-diphenylethyl)piperazine) and its fluorinated derivatives', British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 177, no. 15, pp. 3436-3448.

Detection and quantitation of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists in infused papers from prisons in a constantly evolving illicit market (2020)

Norman, C, Walker, G, McKirdy, B, Mcdonald, C, Fletcher, D, Antonides, LH, Sutcliffe, OB, Nic Daeid, N & McKenzie, C 2020, 'Detection and quantitation of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists in infused papers from prisons in a constantly evolving illicit market', Drug Testing and Analysis, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 538-554.

Large‐scale evaluation of ion mobility spectrometry for the rapid detection of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists in infused papers in prisons (2020)

Norman, C, Mckirdy, B, Walker, G, Dugard, P, Nic Daéid, N & Mckenzie, C 2020, 'Large‐scale evaluation of ion mobility spectrometry for the rapid detection of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists in infused papers in prisons', Drug Testing and Analysis.

Shape Matters: The Application of Activity‐Based In Vitro Bioassays and Chiral Profiling to the Pharmacological Evaluation of Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists in Drug‐Infused Papers Seized in Prisons (2020)

Antonides, LH, Cannaert, A, Norman, C, Nic Daeid, N, Sutcliffe, OB, Stove, CP & McKenzie, C 2020, 'Shape Matters: The Application of Activity‐Based In Vitro Bioassays and Chiral Profiling to the Pharmacological Evaluation of Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists in Drug‐Infused Papers Seized in Prisons', Drug Testing and Analysis.

Drugs of abuse (2019)

Nic Daeid, N & McKenzie, C 2019, 'Drugs of abuse' in Encyclopedia of Analytical Science. 3 edn, Elsevier, pp. 253-258.

Enantiospecific synthesis, chiral separation and biological activity of four indazole-3-carboxamide-type synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists and their detection in seized drug samples (2019)

Antonides, LH, Cannaert, A, Norman, C, Vives, L, Harrison, A, Costello, A, Nic Daeid, N, Stove, C, Sutcliffe, O & McKenzie, C 2019, 'Enantiospecific synthesis, chiral separation and biological activity of four indazole-3-carboxamide-type synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists and their detection in seized drug samples', Frontiers in Chemistry, vol. 7, 321, pp. 1-20.

Multi-shaped cationic gold nanoparticle-L-cysteine-ZnSeS quantum dots hybrid nanozyme as an intrinsic peroxidase mimic for the rapid colorimetric detection of cocaine (2019)

Adegoke, O, McKenzie, C & Daeid, NN 2019, 'Multi-shaped cationic gold nanoparticle-L-cysteine-ZnSeS quantum dots hybrid nanozyme as an intrinsic peroxidase mimic for the rapid colorimetric detection of cocaine', Sensors and Actuators, B: Chemical, vol. 287, pp. 416-427.

The search for the 'next' euphoric non-fentanil novel synthetic opioids on the illicit drugs market: current status and horizon scanning (2019)

Sharma, KK, Hales, T, Rao, VJ, Nic Daeid, N & McKenzie, C 2019, 'The search for the 'next' euphoric non-fentanil novel synthetic opioids on the illicit drugs market: current status and horizon scanning', Forensic Toxicology, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 1-16.