Elsevier Designer Drugs: Chemistry, Analysis, Regulation, Toxicology, Epidemiology & Legislation of New Psychoactive Substances (Emerging Issues in Analytical Chemistry)

Detection and Identification of Designer Drugs, the latest release in the Emerging Issues in Analytical Chemistry series, presents both an overview and a guide to techniques for anyone studying or engaging in designer drug analysis. Proliferation of the synthesis and use of designer drugs is a serious public health problem, with social, economic and legal implications. Whether abuse is studied at the population or individual level, researchers need both background and highly detailed technical information on specific drugs and drug classes in order to combat the proliferation and highly damaging consequences of these substances. Author Brian F. Thomas provides a comprehensive discussion that emphasizes the potential threat to society, presents the ongoing challenges confronting the various laboratory approaches to detection and identification of new chemical entities, and informs on the development of improved analytical solutions for use in legislation, law enforcement and treatment. Summarizes available literature and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of analytical methods for detecting and identifying designer drugs Offers authoritative information from author Brian F. Thomas, an expert with over 30 years of experience in the field Directs the reader to sources of further reading at the conclusion of each chapter Emphasizes the potential threat to society Presents ongoing challenges confronting various laboratory approaches to detection and identification of new chemical entities Review A comprehensive guide to using analytical chemistry tools to detect and identify designer drugs to address related public health problems From the Back Cover A title in the Emerging Issues in Analytical Chemistry series, Designer Drugs: Chemistry, Analysis, Regulation, Toxicology, Epidemiology, Legislation presents both an overview and a guide to techniques for designer drug analysis. Proliferation of the synthesis and use of designer drugs is a serious public health problem with social, economic, and legal implications. Whether abuse is studied at the population level or the individual level, researchers need both background and highly detailed technical information on specific drugs and drug classes in order to combat the proliferation and highly damaging consequences of these substances. Author Roy Gerona provides a comprehensive discussion that emphasizes the potential threat to society, presents the ongoing challenges confronting the various laboratory approaches to detection and identification of new chemical entities, and informs the development of improved analytical solutions for use in legislation, law enforcement, and treatment. Designer Drugs: Chemistry, Analysis, Regulation, Toxicology, Epidemiology, Legislation offers an introduction to the field and a source of information on specific drugs, drug effects, and analytical tools to a wide audience for anyone studying or engaging in designer drug analysis. Analytical and medical chemists, pharmacologist, toxicologists, and students, researchers, and policy makers in the fields of drug abuse, medicine, public health, and forensics will greatly benefit from this essential text. About the Author Brian F. Thomas, PhD, is Principal Scientist, Analytical Chemistry and Pharmaceutics, at RTI International, NC, USA. He has more than 20 years of experience in analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry. He is the principal investigator/co-principal investigator on two National Institute on Drug Abuse repository and purity specification contracts. His principal duties include overseeing the development of chromatographic assays and spectrophotometric assays for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of bulk chemicals or chemicals in dosage formulations, biological fluids, tissues, or other complex matrices. Dr. Thomas was recently awarded RTI’s President’s Award for his scientific contributions to the institute.