"Krokodil" is the street name for a drug, which has been attracting media and researchers attention due to its increasing spread and extreme toxicity. "Krokodil" is a homemade injectable mixture being used as a cheap substitute for heroin. Its use begun in Russia and Ukraine, but it is being spread throughout other countries. The starting materials for "krokodil" synthesis are tablets containing codeine, caustic soda, gasoline, hydrochloric acid, iodine from disinfectants and red phosphorus from matchboxes, all of which are easily available in a retail market or drugstores. The resulting product is a light brown liquid that is injected without previous purification. Herein, we aimed to understand the chemistry behind "krokodil" synthesis by mimicking the steps followed by people who use this drug. The successful synthesis was assessed by the presence of desomorphine and other two morphinans. An analytical gas chromatography-electron impact/mass spectrometry (GC-EI/MS) methodology for quantification of desomorphine and codeine was also developed and validated. The methodologies presented herein provide a representative synthesis of "krokodil" street samples and the application of an effective analytical methodology for desomorphine quantification, which was the major morphinan found. Further studies are required in order to find other hypothetical by-products in "krokodil" since these may help to explain signs and symptoms presented by abusers.

• Klíčová slova
• Desomorphine, GC-EI/MS analysis, Opioid abuse, “Krokodil” synthesis,
• MeSH
• chromatografie kapalinová MeSH
• intravenózní abúzus drog MeSH
• kodein analogy a deriváty   analýza   chemická syntéza   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• limita detekce MeSH
• plynová chromatografie s hmotnostně spektrometrickou detekcí MeSH
• soudní toxikologie MeSH
• zakázané drogy chemická syntéza   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• desomorphine MeSH Prohlížeč
• kodein MeSH
• zakázané drogy MeSH

"Krokodil" is the street name for the homemade injectable mixture that has been used as a cheap substitute for heroin. Its use begun in Russia and Ukraine and nowadays is being spread over several other countries. Desomorphine is the semi-synthetic opioid claimed to be the main component of krokodil and considered to be responsible for its psychoactive characteristics. The starting materials for desomorphine synthesis are codeine tablets, alkali solutions, organic solvent, acidified water, iodine and red phosphorus, all of which are easily available in retail outlets, such as supermarkets, drugstores, etc. The resulting product is a light brown liquid that is called krokodil. People who inject krokodil present a great variety of serious signs and symptoms, including thrombophlebitis, ulcerations, gangrene, and necrosis, quickly evolving to limb amputation and death. These effects are thought to result from the toxic components produced as byproducts during the homemade drug synthesis. In this work, we reviewed several aspects of krokodil use, including its epidemiology, pharmacology and the chemical properties of the main active ingredient (desomorphine). To enhance our understanding of the clinical and toxic effects and to support the implementation of harm reduction measures, we also describe the "bathtub chemistry" of krokodil and the content of the final solution.

• Klíčová slova
• Desomorphine, Krokodil synthesis, Opioids, People who inject drugs, Signs and symptoms,
• MeSH
• gangréna chemicky indukované   MeSH
• intravenózní abúzus drog komplikace   MeSH
• kodein škodlivé účinky   analogy a deriváty   chemie   MeSH
• kůže patologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• molekulární struktura MeSH
• nekróza chemicky indukované   MeSH
• neurotoxické syndromy etiologie   MeSH
• osteonekróza chemicky indukované   MeSH
• traumatická amputace chemicky indukované   MeSH
• zakázané drogy škodlivé účinky   chemie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Názvy látek
• desomorphine MeSH Prohlížeč
• kodein MeSH
• zakázané drogy MeSH