• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.277-282
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• 1997

Methamphetamine, which is the most commonly abused drug in Korea, exists in terms of d-, l- isomers and a racemate(dl). d-Methamphetamine is a potent central nervous system stimulant, whereas l-Methamphetamine is sold freely as a nasal decongestant. In addition, methamphetamine appears in different ratios of optical isomers by the clandestine synthesis applied. In this study, enetiomeric separation of methamphetamines was estabilished to distinguish the chirality of methamphetamines trafficked and abused in Korea. A gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer(GC/MS) system equipped with an achiral capillary column is used to isolate the isomers of methamphetamine after (S)-N-(trifluoroacetyl)-l-prolyl(TFP) deravatization.After analyzing 10 illicit methamphetamine powders and 10 positive urine samples, following findings were found: d-Methamphetamine was well resolved from l-Methamphetamine by chromatographic separation of TFP derivatibes on DB-5 with retention time of 11.80 and 11.35 min respectively. The detection of d-Methamphetamine in all 10 powders and 10 urine samples proves that all methamphetamines abused in Korea are illegally manyfactured and administred.