Massenspektroskopie in der Drogenanalyse

The mass spectra of barbituric acid derivatives reflect the high stability of the malonic acid ureide system. Aliphatically substituted derivatives show preferential fragmentation of the substituents while derivatives with aromatic substituents exhibit cleavage of the barbituric acid portion under formation of stable conjugated systems. These observations allow easy identification of this type of compounds. The high sensitivity of mass spectrometers (mikrogram range) together with modern methods for separation (TLC andGLC) render mass spectrometry a potent tool in forensic analysis.