Correlation between the synthetic origin of methamphetamine samples and their 15N and 13C stable isotope ratios

The active ingredient of ecstasy, N-methyl-3,4-methyldioxyphenylisopropylamine (MDMA) can be manufactured by a number of easy routes from simple precursors. We have synthesised 45 samples of MDMA following the five most common routes using N-precursors from 12 different origins and three different precursors for the aromatic moiety. The 13C and 15N contents of both the precursors and the MDMA samples derived therefrom were measured by isotope ratio mass spectrometry coupled to an elemental analyser (EA–IRMS). We show that within-pathway correlation between the 15N content of the precursor and that of the derived MDMA can be strong but that no general pattern of correlation can be defined. Rather, it is evident that the δ15N values of MDMA are strongly influenced by a combination of the δ15N values of the source of nitrogen used, the route by which the MDMA is synthesised, and the experimental conditions employed. Multivariate analysis (PCA) based on the δ15N values of the synthetic MDMA and of the δ15N and δ13C values of the N-precursors leads to good discrimination between the majority of the reaction conditions tested.