A STUDY IN THE DETERMINATION OF PHENYL-2-PROPANONE FROM AN ILLICIT LABORATORY OPERATION

摘要

Phenyl-2-propanone (P-2-P) is the starting material for the synthesis of methamphetamines and related compounds. Easily synthesized, P-2-P is ideal for illegal drug production and, therefore, is a controlled substance in the USA. Procedures were developed for the analysis of P-2-P recovered from a clandestine laboratory operation. Methods studied included: (1) a qualitative and semiquantitative determination of the sample constituents using a GC-MS system; (2) quantitation of the amount of the starting materials, phenyl acetic acid and acetic acid, by a potentiometric titration; (3) quantitation by gas chromatography (flame ionization detector) using an internal standard; and (4) high-performance liquid chromatography using both normal and reverse phase chromatographic separations. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc. [References: 4]