Vibrational Spectra Of Ketamine Hydrochloride And 3, 4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine In Thz Range

The terahertz spectrum of ketamine hydrochloride at room temperature, in the range of 0.2-2.6 THz, has been measured by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (TDS). Full-geometry optimizations and frequency calculations using the density functional theory (DFT) are also applied to predict the absorption spectra of ketamine hydrochloride and 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). The results of the simulation show qualitative agreement with the experimental data especially for MDMA, and the observed spectra features are assigned based on the DFT calculation. The results suggest that use of the terahertz TDS technique can be an effective method for the detection and inspection of illicit drugs. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.