Table_1_Novel Opioids: Systematic Web Crawling Within the e-Psychonauts’ Scenario.docx

BackgroundA wide range of novel psychoactive substances (NPSs) are regularly searched and discussed online by e-psychonauts. Among NPSs, the range of prescription/non-prescription opioids (fentanyl and non-fentanyl analogs) and herbal derivatives currently represents a challenge for governments and clinicians.MethodsUsing a web crawler (i.e., NPS.Finder®), the present study aimed at assessing psychonaut fora/platforms to better understand the online situation regarding opioids.ResultsThe open-web crawling/navigating software identified some 426 opioids, including 234 fentanyl analogs. Of these, 176 substances (162 were very potent fentanyls, including two ohmefentanyl and seven carfentanyl analogs) were not listed in either international or European NPS databases.ConclusionA web crawling approach helped in identifying a large number, indeed higher than that listed by European/international agencies, of unknown opioids likely to possess a significant misuse potential. Most of these novel/emerging substances are still relatively unknown. This is a reason of concern; each of these analogs potentially presents with different toxicodynamic profiles, and there is a lack of docking, preclinical, and clinical observations. Strengthening multidisciplinary collaboration between clinicians and bioinformatics may prove useful in better assessing public health risks associated with opioids.

背景：众多新颖的致幻活性物质（NPSs）频繁地被网络精神探索者搜索和讨论。在NPSs中，处方/非处方阿片类药物（如芬太尼及其非芬太尼类似物）和草药衍生物目前对各国政府和临床医生构成了挑战。方法：通过使用网络爬虫（即NPS.Finder®），本研究旨在评估精神探索论坛/平台，以更好地理解网络环境下阿片类药物的现状。结果：开放式的网络爬虫/导航软件识别出约426种阿片类药物，包括234种芬太尼类似物。其中，176种物质（包括162种非常强大的芬太尼，其中两种为ohmefentanyl和七种carfentanyl类似物）未列入国际或欧洲的NPS数据库中。结论：网络爬虫方法有助于识别大量未知阿片类药物，其数量实际上超过了欧洲/国际机构所列出的数量，这些药物可能具有显著的滥用潜力。大多数这些新颖/新兴物质仍然相对未知。这构成了一个值得关注的因素；每种类似物都可能具有不同的药效动力学特征，而关于对接、临床前和临床观察的数据却十分匮乏。加强临床医生与生物信息学之间的跨学科合作，可能有助于更好地评估与阿片类药物相关的公共卫生风险。