earticle

영어

ketamine(KT), a NMDA receptor antagonist synthesized in 1962, exhibits rapid onset of action and short duration of effect, making it useful in a variety of medical applications. However, KT is a narcotic whose number of abusers has been rapidly increasing over the past 10 years due to the dissociative effect, known as 'K-hole', which causes symptoms such as delirium, short-term memory, cognitive impairment, and hallucinations. In some cases, even when KT is administered illegally, KT and its metabolites may not be detected in urine, making it difficult to confirm whether KT has been administered. However, in this study, in addition to the previously reported metabolites, presents the metabolite detected at highest concentrations in urine. After a simple urine pretreatment of a 25-year-male KT abuser, the urine sample was analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS) and liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS/MS). As a result of quantitative analysis of KT and its metabolites in LC-MS/MS analysis, the concentrations of KT and its metabolite norketamine(NK) were 1.94 mg/L and 2.57 mg/L, respectively. Analysis of KT metabolites using LC-QTOF-MS/MS positive mode with Sciex's MetabolitePilotTM software, we identified the metabolite detected at the highest concentration in urine, and also identified the glucuronide conjugated metabolite after di-oxidation in the NK structure. By analyzing the metabolite identified in this study, aimed at confirming KT administration through urine, it is possible to conduct a more comprehensive analysis even when reported metabolites of KT are not detected.