Date of Submission

5-3-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Advisor

Brooke Weinger Kammrath

Keywords

first responders, fentanyl, drug abuse, overdose, fieldwork

LCSH

first responders, fentanyl, drug abuse, overdose, fieldwork

Abstract

In recent years, analytical instrumentation has been developed to be used in the field by first responders for the fast and reliable identification of a range of substances. The identification of unknown powders by first responders, especially those that may contain low levels of the highly potent opioid, fentanyl, is essential for the safety of the community as well as to first responders. Due to the typically low concentration of fentanyl in drug mixtures, its detection and confirmatory identification by commercially available field-testing options is challenging. The disposable, self-contained field extraction kit developed by RedWave Technology is a potential solution to this problem. The kit enables an organic solvent extraction to increase the available concentrate of the opioid. The validation of this kit included testing in triplicate, of surrogate samples containing target components caffeine and busiprone HCl, as well as fentanyl derivative samples containing common cutting agents and other controlled substances. Each sample was analyzed using a portable attenuated total reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectrometer. The results indicate that simple mixtures with 1% target components allowed for easy identification of the target components after field extraction. More complicated mixtures resulted in coextractions of the target compound and other components such as xylazine, noscapine, quinine, and heroin. Analysis of the collected spectra also revealed contamination due to di-n-octyl phthalate that was co-extracted from plastic components in the extraction kit. Ultimately, this disposable field extraction kit extends the capabilities of portable ATR-FTIR spectrometers to include low-dose fentanyl, thus making it a useful tool for first responders engaged in combatting the opioid epidemic.

Download

Available for download on Monday, May 03, 2027

Share

COinS