Application of Electrochemical and Hyphenated Techniques in the Study of Addictive and Psychotropic Compounds

The project will be focused on the kinetics and thermodynamics of selected abused antipsychotic, antidepressant, and analgesic drugs (e.g. fentanyl, its derivatives, and metabolites) as well as naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug compound psilocybin and its metabolite psilocin. Attention will be paid to the study of electrochemically driven transfers of charged drugs from the polar hydrophilic (aqueous buffer solution) liquid environments (simulating blood, plasma, and other cellular systems) to the hydrophobic (lipophilic) media (simulating drug carriers, biological phospholipid membranes, etc.) and vice versa. Evaluation of the lipophilicity of ionic and neutral drug forms, estimation of distribution coefficients, partition coefficients, and dissociation constants will be investigated by ion transfer voltammetry. That will contribute to a deeper understanding of the controlled releases of drugs from the drug carriers. Our attention will be paid to the elucidation of the reaction mechanisms on different electrode surfaces. The development of the electrochemical methods applicable for the determination/monitoring of these compounds and their respective metabolites in body fluids and environmental matrices presents a challenge.