Metabolism of JWH-015, JWH-098, JWH-251, and JWH-307 in silico and in vitro: a pilot study for the detection of unknown synthetic cannabinoids metabolites

Anal Bioanal Chem. 2014 Jun;406(15):3621-36. doi: 10.1007/s00216-014-7793-9. Epub 2014 May 8.

Abstract

This pilot study was performed to study the main metabolic reactions of four synthetic cannabinoids: JWH-015, JWH-098, JWH-251, and JWH-307 in order to setup a screening method for the detection of main metabolites in biological fluids. In silico prediction of main metabolic reactions was performed using MetaSite(™) software. To evaluate the agreement between software prediction and experimental reactions, we performed in vitro experiments on the same JWHs using rat liver slices. The obtained samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight and the identification of metabolites was executed using Mass-MetaSite(™) software that automatically assigned the metabolite structures to the peaks detected based on their accurate masses and fragmentation. A comparison between the experimental findings and the in silico metabolism prediction using MetaSite(™) software showed a good accordance between experimental and in silico data. Thus, the use of in silico metabolism prediction might represent a useful tool for the forensic and clinical toxicologist to identify possible main biomarkers for synthetic cannabinoids in biological fluids, especially urine, following their administration.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biomarkers / analysis
  • Cannabinoids / analysis*
  • Chromatography, Liquid
  • Forensic Toxicology / methods
  • Humans
  • Indoles / analysis*
  • Liver / metabolism
  • Models, Chemical
  • Naphthalenes / analysis*
  • Pilot Projects
  • Pyrroles / analysis*
  • Rats
  • Software
  • Substance Abuse Detection / methods*
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry
  • Urinalysis

Substances

  • 1-(1-pentyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-2-o-tolylethanone
  • Biomarkers
  • Cannabinoids
  • Indoles
  • Naphthalenes
  • Pyrroles
  • JHW 015