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Carfentanil

Definition

A fentanyl analogue with a 4-carbomethoxy substituent on the piperidine ring; approximately 10,000 times the analgesic potency of morphine. Implicated in the 2002 Moscow theatre incident and US street fentanyl seizures from 2016.

Related terms

4-Anilinopiperidine Scaffold
The structural core conserved across fentanyl and its analogues: a piperidine ring bearing an anilide group at the 4-position. Clandestine variation at...
6-Monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM)
A transient diagnostic metabolite of heroin (diacetylmorphine) formed by the rapid hydrolysis of one acetyl group. Half-life is 6 to 25 minutes...
Alkaloid Ratio Profiling
A source-attribution technique using the morphine:codeine:papaverine:noscapine ratio in heroin seizures to infer the geographic origin of the opium feedstock, reflecting the chemotype...
Diacetylmorphine
The IUPAC name for heroin; the 3,6-diacetyl ester of morphine, produced by acetylation with acetic anhydride. More lipophilic than morphine, crosses the...
Dose Heterogeneity
The variation in active ingredient content between nominally identical tablets in a counterfeit or clandestinely pressed batch. High dose heterogeneity in illicit...
Marquis Reagent
A presumptive drug test reagent consisting of formaldehyde in concentrated sulphuric acid, first described by Edmund Marquis in 1896. It produces characteristic...
MRM (Multiple Reaction Monitoring)
A targeted MS/MS scan mode on a triple quadrupole that monitors specific precursor-to-product ion transitions, with two transitions per analyte (quantifier and...
Nitazenes
A class of benzimidazole-based synthetic opioids structurally unrelated to fentanyl but with potent mu-opioid receptor agonism. Isotonitazene, metonitazene, and protonitazene have been...
SWGDRUG
Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of Seized Drugs, established in 1997 by the US DEA and the Office of National Drug...

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