The reactivity of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) in alcoholic solutions

Sinead A. Hennessy, Siobhán M. Moane, Seán D. McDermott

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this work the stability of GBL (gamma-butyrolactone) and GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid) in alcoholic media was studied. Under acidic conditions the GBL will react with ethanol or methanol to give the corresponding ethyl and methyl esters of GHB. It can be seen that ester formation is dependent on the type of alcohol, the alcohol content of the solution, and the pH of the solution. Under the same conditions it was shown that GHB does not give rise directly to the corresponding ester when merely in the presence of an alcohol; however the ester will be formed if the conditions are present for conversion of GHB to GBL followed by subsequent reaction with alcohol. In alcoholic beverage samples spiked with GBL the expected conversion to GHB occurred, and the formation of the ethyl ester of GHB was also seen in some samples. Wine samples were analyzed for the presence of the ethyl ester of GHB, and the effect of adding GHB/GBL to hot beverages was studied.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1220-1229
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Forensic Sciences
Volume49
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2004

Keywords

  • Ethyl-gamma-hydroxybutyrate
  • Forensic science
  • Gamma-butyrolactone
  • Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid
  • GBL
  • GHB
  • Methyl-gamma-hydroxybutyrate
  • Reactions with alcohols
  • Stability

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