Microfluidic analysis of fentanyl-laced heroin samples by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy in a hydrophobic medium

Abstract

Opioid overdose deaths resulting from heroin contaminated with the potent opioid agonist fentanyl, are currently a serious public health issue.

Hyperpolarization of Pyridyl Fentalogues by Signal Amplification By Reversible Exchange (SABRE)

“…This poses a serious threat for public health, as minute quantities of 1 (around 2 mg) can be enough to induce overdose . This problem has been exacerbated as some heroin samples are contaminated with 1 , unbeknown to the end user and as such, techniques have been developed for its detection . Illicit sources of 1 are obtained by diversion of pharmaceutical supplies and via clandestine production .…”

Multivariate Analysis Aided Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (MVA-SERS) Multiplex Quantitative Detection of Trace Fentanyl in Illicit Drug Mixtures Using a Handheld Raman Spectrometer

“…34 Because of this enhancement, SERS has a strong potential to detect and characterize analytes at trace levels (ng to sub-ng/mL) making it a promising analytical technique for the detection of lacing agents in seized drugs, as well as an alternative to current toxicological screening methods. 35 For example, SERS has been recently applied to the duplex detection of fentanyl in binary mixtures of heroin 29,36 and cocaine, 31 utilizing benchtop Raman instrumentation and an excitation source at 532 nm. For both heroin and cocaine, Haddad et al 29,31 utilized planar substances obtained by loading Ag nanospheres on filter paper as enhancing platforms, while Salemmilani et al 36 utilized colloidal Ag nanospheres and a microfluidic device to separate fentanyl from heroin.…”

“…35 For example, SERS has been recently applied to the duplex detection of fentanyl in binary mixtures of heroin 29,36 and cocaine, 31 utilizing benchtop Raman instrumentation and an excitation source at 532 nm. For both heroin and cocaine, Haddad et al 29,31 utilized planar substances obtained by loading Ag nanospheres on filter paper as enhancing platforms, while Salemmilani et al 36 utilized colloidal Ag nanospheres and a microfluidic device to separate fentanyl from heroin. To the authors' knowledge, no work has been published yet on the use of a handheld Raman spectrometer for the detection of fentanyl in binary mixtures, and only two reports have to date been published utilizing portable equipment.…”

Silver nanoparticle on zinc oxide array for label-free detection of opioids through surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy

“…This method provides more accurate results, but the technique is costly, requiring a time-consuming and laborious sample preparation procedure which can take up to 24 hours. 4 In recent years, Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) has become a popular method of detecting trace amounts of chemical compounds, especially drugs, [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] due to its ability to enhance the Raman scattering signals of detection targets with high sensitivity, rapid detection time, and non-destructive analysis method. 16,17 For example, Masterson et al 9 developed a exible SERS patch with chemically functionalized Au triangular prisms for detecting highly potent drugs.…”

“…However, a limitation of many current SERS based opioid detecting devices is that they have not been tested using real blood samples, which is an important step for verifying the device's performance in practical settings for detecting the drug use in people. [6][7][8][10][11][12]14,15,18 In addition, these current SERS based sensor of opioid can only detect opioid with a concentration as low as several hundred nanograms per milliliter or even higher. For example, while Shende et al 13 have tested the drugs in blood, their experimental detection limit is 500 ng mL À1 which is too large for detecting trace amount.…”