High amount of industrial chemicals found in fentanyl

Researchers found high amount of industrial chemicals in fentanyl which has been sold as drugs across the United States and has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in America

New York: Researchers found high amount of industrial chemicals in fentanyl which has been sold as drugs across the United States and has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in America.

Fentanyl is more potent than heroin and can therefore cause a toxic build-up and lead to overdose faster and in lower doses, according American Addiction Centres.

Sold as drugs fentanyl is purely synthetic and can be made easily and cheaply in a lab. It is more potent—about 50 to 100 times stronger—than many prescription opioids.

The fentanyl addiction has of late become so rampant in the U.S. that President Trump while imposing tariffs against Canada, China and Mexico cited illegal street fentanyl as one of the reasons.

A White House statement that followed described the synthetic opioid as fuelling a "national emergency" that warranted tough action.

Unearthing India connection to drugs cartel, two Indian companies - Raxuter Chemicals and Athos Chemicals, were charged with criminal conspiracies to distribute and import fentanyl precursor chemicals to the United States last month.

Bhavesh Lathiya, the founder and senior executive of Raxuter and Athos Chemicals wer charged with conspiracy to distribute and import a listed chemical, aware that it would be used to manufacture fentanyl, smuggling, and other related offenses.

‘Industrial Chemicals’

A University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) research team has found that fentanyl contains high amounts of the industrial chemical bis (2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl) sebacate, or BTMPS.

From June through October 2024, the team quantitatively tested samples of drugs sold as fentanyl that had high levels of the chemical, which belongs to a class of compounds called hindered amine light stabilizers and has a variety of applications including as a sealant, adhesive, and additive to plastics.

“The emergence of BTMPS is much more sudden than previous changes in the illicit drug supply, and the geographic range where it was detected nearly simultaneously suggests it may be added at a high level in the supply chain,” said Chelsea Shover, an assistant professor-in-residence at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

This is concerning because BTMPS is not approved for human consumption, and animal studies have shown serious health effects such as cardiotoxicity and ocular damage, and sudden death at certain doses.

In drug product testing where the team was able to quantify different components by mass, samples contained an average of 7 times more BTMPS than fentanyl, with BTMPS sometimes accounting for more than 50% of a drug sold as “fentanyl.”

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