Non-contact identification and differentiation of illicit drugs using fluorescent films.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 29703929.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-04119-6 and PMC identifier 5923207.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Sensitive and rapid identification of illicit drugs in a non-contact mode remains a challenge for years. Here we report three film-based fluorescent sensors showing unprecedented sensitivity, selectivity, and response speed to the existence of six widely abused illicit drugs, including methamphetamine (MAPA), ecstasy, magu, caffeine, phenobarbital (PB), and ketamine in vapor phase. Importantly, for these drugs, the sensing can be successfully performed after 5.0 × 10<sup>5</sup>, 4.0 × 10<sup>5</sup>, 2.0 × 10<sup>5</sup>, 1.0 × 10<sup>5</sup>, 4.0 × 10<sup>4</sup>, and 2.0 × 10<sup>2</sup> times dilution of their saturated vapor with air at room temperature, respectively. Also, presence of odorous substances (toiletries, fruits, dirty clothes, etc.), water, and amido-bond-containing organic compounds (typical organic amines, legal drugs, and different amino acids) shows little effect upon the sensing. More importantly, discrimination and identification of them can be realized by using the sensors in an array way. Based upon the discoveries, a conceptual, two-sensor based detector is developed, and non-contact detection of the drugs is realized.
Medical subject headings
- Fluorescent Dyes
- Illicit Drugs
- Imides
- Perylene
- Substance Abuse Detection