Electrospun Nanofibrous Membrane-Based Colorimetric Device for Rapid and Simple Screening of Amphetamine-Type Stimulants in Drinks

Abstract

With the growth of drug-facilitated crimes, prevention has become increasingly important. Although various drug detection technologies exist, most focus on postconsumption detection. However, the prevention of drug-facilitated crimes requires technology for the quick and easy detection of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATSs) before ingestion. Herein, drug screening kits (DSKs) were developed for the simple detection of ATSs in drinks. The DSKs consisted of polydiacetylene nanofiber-based paper sensors fabricated by electrospinning with 10,12-pentacosadiynoic acid (PCDA) and PCDA-dopamine as sensing materials that can bind ATSs via hydrogen bonding and π−π interactions. Dropping a drink on the DSK provided an immediate visual indication of the presence of ATSs. When ATSs were present in the drink, the color of the DSK clearly changed from blue to red, with the increase in red intensity being more than twofold greater than that observed when water alone was tested. Notably, the result could be confirmed by the naked eye without any analytical instrumentation. A color change indicating the presence of ATSs was successfully observed in various alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks. These results indicate the potential of DSKs for preventing drug-facilitated crimes caused by unwanted drug intake.

Recent reports on the sensing strategy and the On-site detection of illegal drugs

“…Sensors based on chromogenic reactions use the direct colour change from the drug reaction with test agents or the crystalline state change of products above to identify the presence of the drug. For instance, Lim et al 33 constructed drug screening kits (DSKs) based on the conformation change colour of the conjugate plane (alkene–alkyne backbone) of a polydiacetylene (PDA) sensor when externally stimulated. Reading with the naked eyes is the most simple and convenient approach, but often suffers from a lower accuracy.…”

Interpol Review of Drug Analysis 2019-2022

“…2019 GC/MS method for fenethylline profiling of seized samples ; LC-QTOF-MS method for the simultaneous analysis of 111 amine-based compounds belonging to ergogenics, anorectics and other active components including phenethylamines (amphetamines, ephedrines), sibutramine or yohimbine [ 475 ]; excitation-emission matrix fluorescence combined with parallel factor analysis for quantitative analysis of the ATSs illegal drugs [ 476 ]; 2020 investigation of the efficiency and effectiveness of a gas-to-liquid (GTL) extraction system for the extraction of amphetamine-type substances and their precursors from the vapor phase [ 477 ]; LC-MS/MS method for detection of the presence of synthetic amines in dietary supplements [ 478 ]; enantioselective HPLC-MS/MS method for the quantification of (R)-AMP, (S)-AMP, (R)-MA, (S)-MA, (1R,2R)-pseudoephedrine, (1S,2S)-pseudoephedrine, (1R,2S)-ephedrine, (1S,2R)-ephedrine, (1R,2S)-norephedrine, (1S,2R)-norephedrine, (R)-cathinone, (S)-cathinone, and (1S,2S)-norpseudoephedrine (cathine) [ 479 ]; 2021 review of MA and AMP detection and roadside testing [ 480 ]; determination of the variations in delta C-13 and delta N-15 values of nitrogen sources used in the clandestine production of ATSs using isotope ratio mass spectrometry [ 481 ]; electrochemiluminescence strategy for the screening of MA and AMP [ 482 ]; review of laboratory-based and portable methods for detection of ATSs [ 483 ]; review of the prevalence of ATSs in Iran [ 484 ]; SALDI-MS method for the analysis of ATSs, including MA, MDMA, MDEA, and 4-fluoromethamphetamine (4-FMA) [ 485 ]; ATS drug classification using a one-dimensional convolutional neural network model [ 486 ]; 2022 colorimetric assay for detection of ATSs in aqueous solution, spiked drinks, and ‘ecstasy’ tablets [ 487 ]; development and validation of a GC-MS method for identification and quantification of AMP, MA, MDA and MDMA [ 488 ]; development of drug screening kits for the detection of ATSs in drinks [ 489 ]; analysis of feature selection method for 3D molecular structure of ATS drugs [ 490 ]; study of the pharmacological properties of MDA analogues and two related amphetamine-based compounds (N,alpha-DEPEA and DPIA) detected in street drug samples or in sport supplements [ 491 ]; chiral analysis of AMP (n = 143), MDMA (n = 94), and MA (n = 528) in samples seized in southern Germany in 2019 and 2020 using different chromatographic methods [ 492 ]; comparison of different chiral selectors for the enantiomeric determination of amphetamine-type substances by SPE-CE-MS/MS [ 493 ]; ultrahigh performance LC-MS/MS (UPLC-MS/MS) method coupled with magnetic SPE (MSPE) for determination of ultra-trace ATSs [ 494 ]; desk review of Vietnamese national drug policy documents regarding ATSs and in-depth key informant interviews were conducted from 2019 to 2021 [ 495 …”

Conductive Thread-Based Immunosensor for Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Detection

“…The miniaturization of various biosensors is also under active investigation. These include portable fluorometer-based biosensors for on-site disease detection, , colorimetric sensors to detect infectious pathogens by color change, − and smartphone-based biosensors for point-of-care detection of infectious disease. − Efforts are also underway to develop a user-friendly biosensor that can detect bioaerosols in the user’s surroundings in real-time . In this study, we developed a conductive thread-based immunosensor (CT-IS) for the detection of pH1N1 virus, which is one of the viruses transmitted via bioaerosols.…”