Analytical studies on illicit heroin. I. The occurrence of O3-monoacetylmorphine.

A thin-layer chromatographic method and a high pressure liquid chromatographic method have been developed for the analysis of O3-monoacetylmorphine in illicit heroin samples. The possible formation of O3-monoacetylmorphine during the production process of heroin and during its hydrolysis were also studied using these methods.