The Effect of Selected Cathinones on Natural Cell Membranes: Microelectrophoretic Methods

Synthetic cathinones are cathinone analogues that humans have artificially created. The first compounds appeared on the European market in 2005. They belong to a class of drugs called stimulants, classified as new psychoactive substances. Synthetic cathinones are very popular; people use these drugs because they are cheaper "substitutes" for other stimulants. They produce psychostimulant and hallucinogenic effects similar to cocaine, amphetamine, and MDMA, among others. Despite their presence on the market for several years, the precise toxicological impacts of these compounds on the human body remain unknown. Studies were conducted on the effects of selected cathinones (mephedrone, clephedrone) on blood cells: erythrocytes and platelets. The effect of cathinones was determined by measuring the surface density of biological membranes using microelectrophoresis. The continued popularity of these compounds, coupled with limited knowledge of their precise effects on the human body, makes the problem significant and requires ongoing research. Based on the results obtained for mephedrone and clephedrone, it can be concluded that at the tested concentrations (170 ng/mL and 2700 ng/mL), they alter the surface charge density of the biological membranes of red blood cells and platelets.