Recent trends in drugs of abuse metabolism studies for mass spectrometry–based analytical screening procedures

The still increasing number of drugs of abuse, particularly the so-called new psychoactive substances (NPS), poses an analytical challenge for clinical and forensic toxicologists but also for doping control. NPS usually belong to various classes such as synthetic cannabinoids, phenethylamines, opioids, or benzodiazepines. Like other xenobiotics, NPS undergo absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion processes after consumption, but only very limited data concerning their toxicokinetics and safety properties is available once they appear on the market. The inclusion of metabolites in mass spectral libraries is often crucial for the detection of NPS especially in urine screening approaches. Authentic human samples may represent the gold standard for identification of metabolites but are often not available and clinical studies cannot be performed due to ethical concerns. However, numerous alternative in vitro and in vivo models are available. This trends article will give an overview on selected models, discuss current studies, and highlight recent developments.