Identification of MT-45 metabolites

What is it about?

MT-45 is a synthetic opioid with a pharmacological activity comparable to morphine and it has been involved in intoxications and fatalities reported in Europe and in USA. It was recently subjected to control measures, but to date the metabolic pathways of the substance were still unknown. Using rat hepatocytes and LC–HRMS, 14 novel phase I and II MT-45 metabolites were identified, products of monohydroxylation, dihydroxylation, and N-dealkylation; glucuronide conjugation of mono- and dihydroxylated metabolites also occurred. The detected metabolites were firstly predicted in silico, then incubation of the drug with rat hepatocytes was carried out and the obtained metabolites were identified by LC–HRMS, with retention times, mass shift between theoretical mass and observed mass (<10 ppm), peak abundance and fragmentation pattern. Hydroxylated MT-45 was found to be the major metabolite of MT-45 in vitro experiments. The presence of all metabolites was confirmed by in vivo experiments in urine samples of CD-1 male mice

Featured Image