ArticleArchives of toxicology2026
Fatal intoxications with nitazenes: postmortem findings, toxicology, and in vitro characterization at the μ-opioid receptor of six nitazene analogues.
Article in Archives of toxicology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Phase I metabolism of the methadone analog methiodone (IC-26) in pooled human liver microsomes and its detection in seven authentic human cases.Archives of toxicology · 2026Article
- Investigation of the In Vitro and In Vivo Metabolism and μ-Opioid Receptor Affinity of the Nitazene N-Pyrrolidino Fluetonitazene.Drug testing and analysis · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Nitazenes constitute a structurally diverse class of non-fentanyl synthetic opioids that have rapidly emerged in the European illicit drug market since 2019. Bridging analytical, seized drug epidemiology, and interpretative gaps would support meaningful interpretation of nitazene-related deaths. This study presents a fit-for-purpose LC-MS/MS method for the quantitation of six nitazenes, etazene, isotonitazene, N-pyrrolidino isotonitazene, metonitazene, N-pyrrolidino metonitazene, and protonitazene in postmortem blood. The method was applied to analyze 57 nitazene-positive autopsy cases received between December 2020 and December 2024 by the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine. During this period, metonitazene (n = 38) and protonitazene (n = 10) were the most encountered nitazenes, with femoral blood concentrations in mono-intoxicated cases ranging from 0.3 to 34 ng/g and 1.7 to 4.9 ng/g respectively. Complementary in vitro MOR activation studies using AequoScreen® assays demonstrated that these nitazenes possess potencies (0.17-6.0 nM) and efficacies comparable to, or exceeding, those of fentanyl. The predominance of metonitazene prompted further investigation into its metabolism and stability profile, where analysis of authentic postmortem cases indicated the presence of three possible metabolites (N-desethyl, acetamido, 5-amino metonitazene) alongside other amino-containing degradation products. Further studies elucidating true metabolites from postmortem or storage-related breakdown products would support interpretation of nitazene exposure in casework. These findings provide an overview of nitazenes in Swedish forensic casework and address a critical gap in region-specific data, underscoring the need for sustained analytical vigilance and proactive toxicovigilance strategies to ensure timely detection and accurate interpretation of nitazene-related mortalities in an evolving drug landscape.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42034717What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.