In the field of forensic chemistry, methods for identifying and characterizing illicit drugs remain of great interest to government and law enforcement entities. To this end, the unambiguous identification of a drug in the environment (e.g., soil) prompts further investigation into the possibility of a clandestine point of production for such drug. In this report, a method for the analysis of the two common synthetic opioids fentanyl and acetylfentanyl in a soil matrix when present separately at 1 and 10 μg/g by electron ionization gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (EI-GC-MS) is presented. The method involves the initial extraction of the intact opioids followed by their reaction with 2,2,2-trichloroethoxycarbonyl chloride (Troc-Cl) to predictably generate Troc-modified norfentanyl, Troc-noracetylfentanyl and 2-phenylethyl chloride products that can be used to retrospectively corroborate the identity of the opioid by EI-GC-MS. Estimated method detection limits (MDLs) for the Troc-norfentanyl and Troc-noracetylfentanyl species were 15.4 and 13.6 ng/mL respectively from the soil matrix extracts employed (Virginia type A soil) while the calculated method’s LOQ values were 45.7 and 40.4 ng/mL respectively. The protocol presented herein describes for the first time the analysis of these highly toxic and common synthetic opioids in a soil matrix as well as their retrospective confirmation by analyzing the products arising from their reaction with Troc-Cl by EI-GC-MS.

在法医化学领域，识别和表征非法药物的方法仍然引起政府和执法机构的极大兴趣。为此，对环境（例如土壤）中药物的明确鉴定促使进一步调查此类药物秘密生产点的可能性。在本报告中，介绍了一种通过电子电离气相色谱-质谱 (EI-GC-MS) 分析土壤基质中两种常见合成阿片类药物芬太尼和乙酰芬太尼的方法，分别以 1 和 10 μg/g 存在。该方法涉及完整阿片类药物的初始提取，然后它们与 2,2,2-三氯乙氧基羰基氯 (Troc-Cl) 反应，可预测地生成 Troc 修饰的去甲芬太尼，Troc-noracetylfentanyl 和 2-phenylethyl chloride 产品，可用于通过 EI-GC-MS 回顾性证实阿片类药物的身份。所用土壤基质提取物（弗吉尼亚 A 型土壤）中 Troc-去甲芬太尼和 Troc-去甲乙酰芬太尼的估计方法检测限 (MDL) 分别为 15.4 和 13.6 ng/mL，而计算方法的 LOQ 值为 45.7 和 40.4 ng/mL分别。本文介绍的协议首次描述了对土壤基质中这些剧毒和常见合成阿片类药物的分析，以及通过 EI-GC-MS 分析它们与 Troc-Cl 反应产生的产物进行的回顾性确认。所用土壤基质提取物（弗吉尼亚 A 型土壤）中 Troc-去甲芬太尼和 Troc-去甲乙酰芬太尼的估计方法检测限 (MDL) 分别为 15.4 和 13.6 ng/mL，而计算方法的 LOQ 值为 45.7 和 40.4 ng/mL分别。本文介绍的协议首次描述了对土壤基质中这些剧毒和常见合成阿片类药物的分析，以及通过 EI-GC-MS 分析它们与 Troc-Cl 反应产生的产物进行的回顾性确认。所用土壤基质提取物（弗吉尼亚 A 型土壤）中 Troc-去甲芬太尼和 Troc-去甲乙酰芬太尼的估计方法检测限 (MDL) 分别为 15.4 和 13.6 ng/mL，而计算方法的 LOQ 值为 45.7 和 40.4 ng/mL分别。本文介绍的协议首次描述了对土壤基质中这些剧毒和常见合成阿片类药物的分析，以及通过 EI-GC-MS 分析它们与 Troc-Cl 反应产生的产物进行的回顾性确认。