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Recent Advances in the Use of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering for Illicit Drug Detection
Shamim Azimi1, Aristides Docoslis1
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|May 28, 2022
Summary
Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) offers a sensitive method for detecting illicit drugs in various samples. This review highlights SERS advancements for rapid, accurate drug identification in labs and in situ.
Area of Science:
- Analytical Chemistry
- Forensic Science
- Materials Science
Background:
- Illicit drug use poses significant health and societal challenges.
- Sensitive detection methods are crucial for addressing drug abuse.
- Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) shows promise for trace drug analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the current applications of SERS for illicit drug detection.
- To examine SERS substrates and recent fabrication advancements.
- To discuss the potential and challenges of SERS in drug analysis.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature on SERS applications for drug detection.
- Analysis of SERS substrate types and performance.
- Evaluation of SERS for aqueous, biological, and complex samples.
Main Results:
- SERS is highly sensitive for detecting low drug dosages.
- Advancements in SERS substrates improve quantitative and qualitative analysis.
- SERS is effective in various sample matrices including saliva, urine, and blood.
Conclusions:
- SERS demonstrates strong potential as a laboratory and in situ method for drug detection.
- Further development is needed to overcome current challenges in SERS-based drug analysis.
- SERS offers a fast and sensitive approach for illicit drug identification.
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