Regal electrochemistry: Sensing of the synthetic cathinone class of new psychoactive substances (NPSs)

Tan, F, Smith, JP, Sutcliffe, OB and Banks, CE (2015) Regal electrochemistry: Sensing of the synthetic cathinone class of new psychoactive substances (NPSs). Analytical Methods, 7 (16). pp. 6470-6474. ISSN 1759-9660

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Abstract

© 2015 The Royal Society of Chemistry. In this paper the concept of 'Regal Electrochemistry' is expanded towards the electrochemical sensing of Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPSs) namely synthetic cathinone derivatives where British coinage is used as the electrochemical sensor. In this proof-of-concept approach, the electrochemical sensing of mephedrone (4-MMC) and 4′-methyl-N-ethylcathinone (4-MEC) is shown to be possible using a British 1 pence coin for the first time. This novel electrochemical protocol is validated towards the detection of cathinone derivatives in a seized street sample that has been independently analysed via high performance liquid chromatography demonstrating its potential use as a novel electrochemical sensor for NPSs.