Software‐assisted automated detection and identification of “unknown” analogues of benzodiazepines in liquid chromatography mass spectrometry analysis

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) construct a large group of psychoactive drugs acting as depressants of the central nervous system (CNS) and used in medicine as sedatives and anxiolytic and antiepileptic agents. The illicit use of these materials is a worldwide problem, and for many years, part of the benzodiazepines have been abused as rape drugs. For example, flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) is most commonly linked by media reports to drug-facilitated sexual assaults, more commonly referred to as "date rape." Furthermore, there are growing concerns for other misuses of these drugs. Over the last few years, there was an increase in the number, type, and availability of new psychoactive substances (NPS) belonging to the benzodiazepine group, challenging standard forensic labs to fully identify the chemical structure of new, unknown benzodiazepines.