The source of tolualdehyde derived oxazolidines in clandestine laboratory samples

Abstract

Tolualdehyde-derived oxazolidines are presented as markers of pseudoephedrine extraction when xylene is used as the extracting solvent. This article outlines the detection of low levels of tolualdehyde isomers in xylene and their subsequent reaction with pseudoephedrine. The emergence of tolualdehyde-derived oxazolidines in clandestine laboratory samples may be related to the availability of multiple entity decongestant formulations over single entity formulations, where the former class of decongestant may require a more complex extraction procedure.

Keywords:

• oxazolidines
• clandestine laboratories