Identification of illicit drugs by a combination of liquid chromatography and surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy

Electrochemical and spectroscopic characterisation of amphetamine-like drugs: Application to the screening of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and its synthetic precursors

“…Although there are some reported studies on the Raman analysis of amphetamine-like compounds [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21], these experiments have only focused on particular regions of the vibrational spectra.…”

Development of a Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Method for the Detection of Benzodiazepines in Urine

“…58,49,59 Lastly, unlike infrared spectroscopy where water is a major interference in the spectral analysis, samples can be run in an aqueous environment. 43 Conventional Raman spectroscopy is not without its drawbacks.…”

“…43,44,45,53,54 Often testing for the presence of drugs involves an analysis in physiological fluids. In such situations, the SERS analysis would be complicated by the presence of interferences such as proteins, therefore, the small quantity of drug present must be extracted and cleaned up prior to using SERS detection.…”

“…In such situations, the SERS analysis would be complicated by the presence of interferences such as proteins, therefore, the small quantity of drug present must be extracted and cleaned up prior to using SERS detection. 43,44,45 Cleanup can also include preconcentration of the sample to improve the sensitivity of the analysis. HPLC has been utilized as a separation technique prior to SERS for the analysis of cocaine, heroin, amphetamines and 1,4-benzodiazepines by Schneider and coworkers.…”

“…HPLC has been utilized as a separation technique prior to SERS for the analysis of cocaine, heroin, amphetamines and 1,4-benzodiazepines by Schneider and coworkers. 43,44,45 Each study shows that following a liquid-liquid extraction from biological fluids, HPLC can separate a sufficient amount of material for SERS off-line detection (1 μg/mL). The choice of eluent is extremely important due to competition with the analyte for adsorption to the SERS substrate.…”