Voltammetric signatures of 2,5-dimethoxy-N-(2-methoxybenzyl) phenethylamines on boron-doped diamond electrodes: Detection in blotting paper samples

•Voltammetry of NBOMes and their 2C-X analogues on boron-doped diamond electrodes•Fast square-wave voltammetry provides signatures for different NBOMes and 2C-X.•Identification of NBOMes and their 2C-X analogues in blotting paper seized from the drug market•LSD, another psychedelic drug distributed in blotting paper, did not interfere with the analysis.•Promising application of the sensor for field analysis in forensic police work

This work is concerned with the electrochemical detection of new psychoactive substances (NPSs), in particular 2,5-dimethoxy-N-(2-methoxybenzyl) phenethylamine structures (NBOMes) and the analogous 2,5-dimethoxy phenethylamine structures (2C-X group) on boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes. Fast square-wave voltammetry was used to identify the substances in question. The antifouling properties of the BDD surface resulted in stable, repeatable, sensitive and unique voltammetric responses for these NPSs, producing different voltammetric signatures. Different NBOMes were identified by voltammetric methods in blotting paper seized from the drug market, without any interference from LSD, another psychedelic drug distributed via blotting paper. The proposed method achieved detection limits lower than 0.1 μmol L− 1 with high precision (RSD < 1.4%, n = 10) for all analytes.

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