Universitat de Barcelona (UB):
UB group is an institutionally recognized research group with broad experience working in the neuropsychopharmacology of amphetamine derivatives and was one of the first groups to publish studies about the effect of cathinones in laboratory animals. Moreover, the role of UB group will be to supervise the overall project as Coordinator. In addition, the in vitro/in vivo assays, and the dose-response behavioral experiments to measure the psychostimulant, hallucinogen and rewarding effects induced by the selected NPS (in mice) will be performed in this lab.
Dr. J. Camarasa
Coordinator
Dra E. Escubedo
Full professor
Dr. D. Pubill
Full professor
Dr. M. Carbó
Senior researcher
Dr. R López-Arnau
Full professor
Mr. P. Puigseslloses
Institut Químic de Sarrià (IQS):
The laboratory of synthesis belongs to a Research group of the School of Engineering of the Ramon Llull University. Berzosa’s lab research focuses on pharmaceutical chemistry and API production in the areas of Biomedicine and Health Sciences. IQS group, jointly with UB and GRAZ groups, will carry out the selection of eight NPS. Moreover, the synthesis of the selected compounds will be carried by this group out following the previously described protocols with minor modifications.
Dr. X. Berzosa
Senior researcher
Mr. G. Ketsela
Technician
Pronexus Analytical AB:
Its research concerns the development of techniques for in vivo monitoring chemical signals in the brain, using the microdialysis technique. In fact, this technique was developed in this laboratory in the early 1970s. Kehr’s lab has developed several ultrasensitive HPLC techniques for the determination of trace levels of dopamine, serotonin and their metabolites in the rat brain. Pronexus focuses its research in the microdialysis experiments, enabling the monitorization of neurotransmitters and other molecules in the interstitial tissue fluid. This method is widely used for quantifying dopamine or serotonin, the most relevant molecules associated to rewarding/reinforcing properties of an addictive drug.
Dr. J. Kehr
Senior expert
Universität Graz:
The research’s field of Graz group is the development of analytical chromatographic techniques. Mainly HPLC and GC are used for this purpose. One of the first suitable chiral HPLC columns was developed in this lab in the early 1980s. Since 2010, they are building an MS-library of new psychostimulants (cathinones, phenethylamines, tryptamines) purchased via the Internet or provided from police seizures or by hospitals. The Schmid and Raber’s laboratories are European reference centers in analytical chemistry and pharmaceutical analysis, with broad expertise in the development of chromatographic methodologies. They will establish the analytical protocols to determine (GC) and quantify (HPLC-MS) the synthesized NPS.
Dr. M. Schmid
Senior expert
Dr. G. Raber
Senior expert
Dra. E. Seibert
Senior expert
Université de Poitiers (UNIPO):
The main research objective of the “Neurobiology and Neuropharmacology of addiction” team is to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the development of, maintenance and relapse to drug addiction. M. Solinas, the principal investigator of this group is renowned worldwide for his expertise in intravenous drug self-administration procedures. He has published more than 60 papers in the field of addiction. Self-administration experiments to investigate the reinforcing effects of NPS will be carried out in this lab.
Dr. M. Solinas' group
Director of Research CNRS/UNIPO)