Study on Phase Ⅰ Metabolism of 2-(Benzylamino)-1-Phenylheptan-1-One in Human Liver Microsomes Based on Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Tandem Mass Spectrometry

2-(benzylamino)-1-phenylheptan-1-one is a novel synthetic cathinone derivative that has emerged in recent years, and its metabolic pathways and metabolites remain unclear. This study aims to elucidate its in vitro metabolic characteristics and provide theoretical support for new psychoactive substance abuse detection and metabolic research.

A human liver microsome in vitro metabolic model combined with ultra performance liquid chromatography-high resolution tandem mass spectrometry was employed to systematically analyze the metabolic transformation patterns of 2-(benzylamino)-1-phenylheptan-1-one. Metabolites were identified by comparing accurate molecular weights and fragment ions.

A total of 30 metabolites were identified, and N-dealkylation, hydroxylation, ketone reduction, and methylation constituted the primary metabolic pathways. Among them, metabolites M5-B(N-dealkylation and ketone reduction), M2-B(N-dealkylation), and M1-B(ketone reduction) exhibited the highest relative abundance. Notably, M1-B and M5-B showed metabolic specificity. To address the risk of false positives caused by cross-reactivity among structural analogs or individual metabolic differences in single-metabolite detection, combined detection of M1-B, M2-B, and M5-B is recommended as a potential biomarker panel. This multi-marker strategy can reduce the risk of misjudgment in forensic identification and provide a basis for subsequent in vivo metabolic studies and detection method development.

This study is the first to systematically characterize the in vitro metabolic profile of 2-(benzylamino)-1-phenylheptan-1-one, identifying potential metabolic pathways and biomarkers. These findings provide key technical support for developing screening methods in forensic toxicology.