Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Methcathinone - watch that manganese!

Ritter - 5-7-2008 at 11:21

Apparently the synthesis method of choice these days in Russian drug labs utilizes a manganese reagent (KMnO4) which apparently doesn't get entirely removed during purification:
Quote:
N Engl J Med. 2008 Mar 6;358(10):1009-17.

A Parkinsonian syndrome in methcathinone users and the role of manganese.

Stepens A, Logina I, Liguts V, Aldins P, Eksteina I, Platkājis A, Mārtinsone I, Tērauds E, Rozentāle B, Donaghy M.

Department of Neurology, Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia.

BACKGROUND: A distinctive extrapyramidal syndrome has been observed in intravenous methcathinone (ephedrone) users in Eastern Europe and Russia.

METHODS: We studied 23 adults in Latvia who had extrapyramidal symptoms and who had injected methcathinone for a mean (+/-SD) of 6.7+/-5.1 years. The methcathinone was manufactured under home conditions by potassium permanganate oxidation of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. All patients were positive for hepatitis C virus, and 20 were also positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). RESULTS: The patients reported that the onset of their first neurologic symptoms (gait disturbance in 20 and hypophonia in 3) occurred after a mean of 5.8+/-4.5 years of methcathinone use. At the time of neurologic evaluation, all 23 patients had gait disturbance and difficulty walking backward; 11 patients were falling daily, and 1 of these patients used a wheelchair. Twenty-one patients had hypophonic speech in addition to gait disturbance, and one of these patients was mute. No patient reported decline in cognitive function. T(1)-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed symmetric hyperintensity in the globus pallidus and in the substantia nigra and innominata in all 10 active methcathinone users. Among the 13 former users (2 to 6 years had passed since the last use), lesser degrees of change in the MRI signal were noted. Whole-blood manganese levels (normal level, <209 nmol per liter) averaged 831 nmol per liter (range, 201 to 2102) in the active methcathinone users and 346 nmol per liter (range, 114 to 727) in former users. The neurologic deficits did not resolve after patients discontinued methcathinone use.

CONCLUSIONS: Our observation of a distinctive extrapyramidal syndrome, changes in the MRI signal in the basal ganglia, and elevated blood manganese levels in methcathinone users suggests that manganese in the methcathinone solution causes a persistent neurologic disorder.


and

Quote:
Mov Disord. 2007 Jul 15;22(9):1337-43.

Manganic encephalopathy due to "ephedrone" abuse.

Sanotsky Y, Lesyk R, Fedoryshyn L, Komnatska I, Matviyenko Y, Fahn S.

Department of Neurology, Lviv Regional Clinical Hospital, Lviv, Ukraine. janush_s@yahoo.com

We describe the clinical and neuroimaging features of 6 drug-abuse patients with self-inflicted manganese poisoning. The patients injected a home-brewed mixture called "ephedrone" (slang term) that contained manganese to produce an amphetamine-like euphoria. The desired chemical product, phenylpropanoneamine (also called methcathinone), was synthesized from a common-cold-remedy compound using permanganate as the catalyst. Manganese was a by-product in the ephedrone mixture. After months of self-injections, a clinical picture emerged, consisting of apathy, bradykinesia, gait disorder with postural instability, and spastic-hypokinetic dysarthria. There was no response to levodopa. The MRI revealed symmetric hyperintense T1-weighted signals in the basal ganglia, typical of manganese accumulation.


And from the Wikipedia page on this substance:
Quote:
Methcathinone is most commonly made by the oxidation of ephedrine. Oxidation of ephedrine to methcathinone requires little chemistry experience, making it easy to synthesize. Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) is most commonly used as the oxidant.[3]

Synthesizing methcathinone using either potassium permanganate or various chromates is considered undesirable because of the low yields and the high toxicity of these oxidants. A method that yields more methcathinone is oxidizing ephedrine with sodium hypochlorite.[4] If done in a proper laboratory using the proper procedures, however, potassium permanganate can be a high-yielding reactant.[5]



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methcathinone







[Edited on 5-7-2008 by Ritter]

ScienceSquirrel - 5-7-2008 at 18:48

Let me see;

They take crude ephedrine extracted from OTC pills.
They oxidise this, do minimal clean up and do not try to characterise the product.
They dissolve the muck in water and inject it!

Why not give themselves an antifreeze enema and have done with it :cool:

This will really mess you up maaann.

Formatik - 5-7-2008 at 19:25

Manganese compounds injected or inhaled can give those neurologic disease. There is a book that goes through various doses of Mn in mammals. The maximum tolerable levels in some animals in the diets (ingested) of animals (cattle, sheep) were below 1000 mg/kg, and they note for inhalation in humans:
Quote:
Inhalation exposure to manganese.

Chronic exposure to inhaled manganese (usually but not exclusively MnO2) causes a disabling neurological syndrome called manganism in humans (ATSDR, 2000). The clinical symptoms initially include nonspecific symptoms (e.g., fatigue, headache, muscle cramps, lumago, insomnia, loss of memory, impotence, slowing of movements) and eventually behavioral and psychotic changes, symptoms resembling Parkinson's disease, and dystonia with severe gait disturbances (Pal et al., 1999). The extrapyramidal symptoms are often irreversible and the primary site of the neurological damage is the globus pallidus.

Sauron - 5-7-2008 at 19:44

I'm shocked and dismayed that clandestine drug cooks anywhere could be so incompetent and negligent as to not properly purify their products. Who would have thought it?

After all, drug cooks have always been renowned for their high technical standards and rigorous adherence to sound pharmacological practice - haven't they?

JohnWW - 5-7-2008 at 20:14

Manganese and chromium, in their lower oxidation states, are supposed to be essential trace elements in microgram quantities; biochemical catalysts which, like Fe in hemoglobin and Co in vitamin B-12 (cyanocobalamin), are bonded in a porphyrin-derivative complex, most likely as Mn(II) and Cr(III). In the preparation of methcathinone by oxidation with KMnO4, it is not clear what oxidation state the Mn is reduced to, but MnO2, if formed, would be insoluble and of no use as a trace element, and very difficult to eliminate from the body, because of its reluctance to form metabolizable complexes. Either insoluble MnO2 is formed in the preparation of methcathinone using KMnO4 and the drug chemists made no real effort to remove it, e.g. by recrystallization or extraction with an organic solvent, or else Mn(II) or (III) is formed which forms a complex with the methcathinone and cannot easily be displaced from it.

I wonder if safer oxidants for the purpose would, instead, be H2O2, or organic peroxides like peroxyacetic acid, or ferrate(VI), or peroxycarbonate.

not_important - 5-7-2008 at 22:32

Manganese toxicity is well known, workers in manganese ore processing facilities, welders, and ceramics workers have suffered from it. It has been studied for decades, with reports going back to early Victorian times. for instance
Quote:

Mena I, Marin O, Fuenzalida S, Cotzias GC. Chronic manganese
poisoning: clinical picture and manganese turnover. Neurology
1967; 17(2): 128–136.


here : http://www.neurology.org/cgi/reprint/17/2/128?ijkey=5942eb89...


It appears that Mn2+ is the main form of transport, although Mn3+ may be have transitory existence under certain conditions.

recent article
http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/full/64/12/2021

Attachment: Review Article - Manganese toxicity upon overexposure.pdf (119kB)
This file has been downloaded 795 times

Panache - 6-7-2008 at 05:46

'.... At the time of neurologic evaluation, all 23 patients had gait disturbance and difficulty walking backward; 11 patients were falling daily, and 1 of these patients used a wheelchair. Twenty-one patients had hypophonic speech in addition to gait disturbance, and one of these patients was mute. No patient reported decline in cognitive function. '


And i thought i was just clumsy but now i understand what's causing my symptoms.

Hypophonic speech-A hypophonic voice, characterized perceptually as weak and breathy, is associated with voice disorders such as vocal fold atrophy and unilateral vocal fold paralysis.

The_Davster - 6-7-2008 at 07:32

By entitling this thread with the phrase "...watch that manganese" are you implying that you think members here are responsible for this? If such is the case this will go to detritus.
However I am giving you the benefit of the doubt, and assuming you just wanted to share an interesting news story, so this is more suited for miscellaneous, and as such is moved there.

MagicJigPipe - 6-7-2008 at 14:08

I got no such impression when I read the title. I simply thought it was a semi-clever phrase to try and entice the potential reader. Like a newspaper article on a certain spice that has been discovered to be toxic might say, "Watch That Garlic!". I suppose it just means to watch out for the garlic. In general.

I don't know how you got the impression that he was saying people here are making methcathinone with Mn in it...

[Edited on 7-6-2008 by MagicJigPipe]

chemrox - 9-7-2008 at 23:58

Quote:
Originally posted by Sauron
I'm shocked and dismayed that clandestine drug cooks anywhere could be so incompetent and negligent as to not properly purify their products. Who would have thought it?

After all, drug cooks have always been renowned for their high technical standards and rigorous adherence to sound pharmacological practice - haven't they?


hahaha!

When I first starting assessing properties that had been used for clandestine m-A manufacture the method of choice was still from benzylmethyl ketone (P2P). Since P2P was proscribed at the same level as m-A itself, P2P had to be made. A common method of the time involved an organo lead reagent. Since the lead impurity was also white crystalline there was no motive to clean it out at least for the cynical bastards willing to take all those risks for the profit. Lead is weight maaan...So we had apartments contaminated with lead and people walking around with gray teeth and running sores. Thank you government for protecting us from ourselves again ...

Ritter - 19-7-2008 at 19:40

Quote:
Originally posted by The_Davster
By entitling this thread with the phrase "...watch that manganese" are you implying that you think members here are responsible for this? If such is the case this will go to detritus.
However I am giving you the benefit of the doubt, and assuming you just wanted to share an interesting news story, so this is more suited for miscellaneous, and as such is moved there.


I meant to imply nothing. You are reading too much between the words of my tag line. This was meant to be a warning about the possible dangers inherent in consuming illicitlt manufactured drugs where purity is not the primary concern.

Your moving this post to 'Miscellaneous' may result in health damage to otherwise unaware subscribers.

[Edited on 19-7-2008 by Ritter]

a_bab - 20-7-2008 at 10:48

"They" dont purify the product because of several reasons:

-it would lower the yield. That means less profit
-it would raise the production costs and dangers (even more flammable stuff in the kitchen)
-they don't give a fuck anyway. Selling drugs means you don't care about the consequences. Almost like selling bombs: "I can make'em; the buyer does whatever he wans with it"