Analysis of illicit drugs arises as an important field of work given the high social impacts presented by drugs in the modern society. Direct
laser ablation of solid compounds allows their analysis without sampling or preparation procedures. For that purpose, an experimental
set-up that combines laser ablation with time-of-flight mass spectrometry has been constructed very recently to perform studies on
the mass spectra of such drugs as 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine, commonly known as MDMA or ecstasy. Analysis of the
observed fragmentation pattern in mass spectra may elucidate the ablation-induced photofragmentation phenomena produced, which
differ from those previously observed with conventional ionization methods.
