Ring positional differentiation of isomeric N-alkylated fluorocathinones by gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

In analogy to our previously published procedure for the differentiation of regioisomeric fluoroamphetamines a method was developed, to differentiate ring positional isomeric fluorocathinones by product ion spectrometry of ions generated by chemical ionization (CI) under GC–MS conditions using methane as reagent gas. N-alkylated ortho-, meta- and para-fluorocathinones could be unequivocally differentiated by product ion spectrometry of the hydrogen fluoride loss ions [M+H−HF]+ using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer with argon as collision gas under normalized collision conditions. This method enables the differentiation of ring positional isomers of fluorocathinones even in complex mixtures and low concentrations. The applicability of the method was shown by the analysis of synthesized N-alkylated ortho-, meta- and para-fluorocathinones and seized designer drug mixtures.