Rapid Screening of New Psychoactive Substances Using pDART-QqQ-MS

Area of Science:

• Forensic Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Toxicology

Background:

• Drug abuse is a global issue, with new psychoactive substances (NPSs) posing increasing challenges.
• Traditional immunoassays struggle to detect NPSs, while existing chromatography-mass spectrometry methods are time-consuming.
• Accurate and rapid detection of NPSs is crucial for effective drug abuse monitoring and forensic analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a rapid analytical platform for the detection of NPSs in forensic drug testing.
• To establish a semiquantitative analysis method for NPSs in urine samples.
• To address the limitations of current screening methods for NPSs.

Main Methods:

• Development of a paper-loaded direct analysis in real time triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (pDART-QqQ-MS) platform.
• Implementation of the platform for semiquantitative analysis of urine samples.
• Validation using urine samples from drug addicts.

Main Results:

• The pDART-QqQ-MS platform achieved a detection time of under 30 seconds per sample.
• It successfully detected 21 NPSs in urine mixtures with a lower limit of qualification between 20-75 ng/mL.
• The platform demonstrated effectiveness in analyzing real-world forensic samples.

Conclusions:

• The pDART-QqQ-MS platform provides a rapid, efficient, and accurate solution for NPS detection in forensic toxicology.
• This method significantly improves upon the limitations of current immunoassay and conventional MS techniques.
• The platform offers a promising tool for combating the challenges of NPS abuse and detection.