ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 January 2005
Page Count: 9

Structural Determination of the Principal Byproduct of the Lithium-Ammonia Reduction Method of Methamphetamine Manufacture
Person, EC
Washington State Patrol, Marysville Crime Laboratory, Washington

Meyer, JA
Western Washington University, Washington

Vyvyan, JR
Western Washington University, Washington

(Received 18 May 2004; accepted 21 August 2004)

Abstract

One common method- of illicit methamphetamine manufacture utilizes an alkali metal, typically lithium, and liquid ammonia to chemically reduce ephedrine or pseudoephedrine to form methamphetamine. This method is often referred to as the lithium-ammonia reduction method or the Birch reduction method. While the hydroxyl group of ephedrine is more reactive than the aromatic ring, excess alkali metal and the presence of a proton source allow the formation of a cyclohexadiene byproduct not found in samples of methamphetamine produced from other manufacturing methods. A sample enriched in this byproduct was generated and characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), infrared (IR) spectrophotometry, and ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry. The chemical structure of this byproduct was determined to be 1-(1ʹ,4ʹ-cyclohexadienyl)-2-methylaminopropane (CMP).

Keywords:
forensic science, forensic chemistry, methamphetamine, manufacture, byproduct, nuclear magnetic resonance, reduction

Paper ID: JFS2004204
DOI: 10.1520/JFS2004204
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