Illicit drugs have been infiltrating society for decades. With ever changing distribution networks and the emergence of newly psychoactive substances it is crucial now more than ever to refine the techniques used in drug profiling and evolve forensic intelligence.
In this experiment street drug samples of MDMA, cocaine, and heroin obtained through Border Force seizure have undergone detailed examination using X-Ray Diffraction, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, and Simultaneous Thermal Analysis. The experiment was conducted with the aims of discovering the composition of these samples, through which their purity, thermal profiles, and notable structural characteristics could be assessed.
XRD analysis of both heroin and cocaine proved unsuccessful, with too much background signal interfering with the results, meaning no valuable interpretation could be performed. MDMA proved to have the highest purity out of all the samples, with support from all three analytical techniques. Both heroin and cocaine were found to contain adulterants, confirmed mainly through NMR analysis. Heroin contained the common adulterants of caffeine and paracetamol, with some results indicating smaller quantities of other unidentified adulterants also present. The cocaine was found cut with Levamisole; a veterinary drug often found mixed with cocaine seizures. Thermal stability of MDMA and heroin was good, with little mass loss during STA analysis. However, cocaine experienced a roughly 80% loss in mass, inferring a high ratio of Levamisole reducing the thermal stability of the cocaine sample.
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