Identification of an acetal derivative of the piperonyl methyl ketone in tablets seized for suspected drug trafficking

Structural elucidation of a new chemical compound found in tablets seized in the Naples area (Italy) and manufactured in the Netherlands was conducted using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The compound was identified as the acetal derivative of the piperonyl methyl ketone (PMKA). The structure of PMKA is unprecedented and remarkable for the lack of a nitrogen atom at the distal position of the methylenedioxyphenyl moiety. Surprisingly, PMKA was inactive by itself, but it enhanced the stimulant effects on locomotor activity at the central nervous system level induced by 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine in mice.