Instituto Superior Técnico took part in the investigation carried out by the Portuguese Criminal Investigation Police (PJ) that led to the detection of a new synthetic drug, N-desethyl-isotonitazene, following the seizure of thousands of fake oxycodone tablets, as announced by PJ on February 6. To identify this substance, there was a close collaboration between the PJ’s Scientific Police Laboratory (LPC) and Alexandra Antunes, a professor at Técnico and a researcher at the Centro de Química Estrutural (CQE).
According to the professor, “the identification of this new synthetic drug is vital” since, “without its identification, the forensic authorities are unable to control it and, when patients are admitted to hospital after a drug overdose, it is not possible to identify the causative agent, causing difficulties in treatment”. The PJ itself emphasises the toxicity of the substance – “its consumption produces feelings of euphoria followed by drowsiness, causing respiratory insufficiency, which is the main cause of death due to drug overdose”.
“My task was to analyse and characterise this new substance using high-resolution mass spectrometry, both in mixtures obtained by extracting the tablets and after isolation”, explains Alexandra Antunes. This work was carried out at CQE’s mass spectrometry laboratory which, together with researchers from the Faculty of Sciences, collaborated with the PJ. “It’s a very enriching work and I’m very proud of it”, says the researcher. “It’s a good example of collaboration between public institutions, which have combined efforts and technical resources to solve specific problems in our society”, she adds.
Alexandra Antunes has been working with the LPC since 2017, and in 2020 she was appointed by the judicial authority as an expert in the PJ’s National Counter-Terrorism Unit.
Several scientific papers have already been published and master’s theses have been developed at Técnico in collaboration with the LPC in the field of ‘New Psychoactive Substances’. Some Chemical Engineering MSc students have also had the opportunity to do short-term internships at LPC.
