NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.
Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.
An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
A collaborative platform for novel compound identification - characterization of designer phencyclidines (PCPs) POXP, PTHP, and P2AP
Published
Author(s)
Edward Sisco, Aaron Urbas
Abstract
With the sustained prevalence and introduction of emerging drugs throughout the world there is a need for continued development and maintenance of platforms that enable rapid identification and characterization of unknown compounds. To complement existing efforts, a collaborative platform between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and practicing forensic agencies is being deployed which enables laboratories to leverage techniques and expertise that may not exist at their facilities. Using this approach, unknown compounds are identified and characterized using a suite of analytical tools to obtain (1) a rapid preliminary identification followed by (2) a more complete characterization and confirmation of the preliminary identification. To demonstrate this platform, the characterization of three previously unreported analogs of phencyclidine (PCP) – POXP, PTHP, and P2AP – are described. A preliminary identification of the three substances was obtained using direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) with confirmation by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and gas chromatography flame ionization detection (GC-FID).
Sisco, E.
and Urbas, A.
(2023),
A collaborative platform for novel compound identification - characterization of designer phencyclidines (PCPs) POXP, PTHP, and P2AP, Forensic Chemistry, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forc.2023.100505, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=934907
(Accessed October 6, 2025)