Welcome to your Pittcon 2021 Exhibitor Console!
The Exhibitor Console is your hub for all the information you need to know about exhibiting at Pittcon 2021!
Integration of Electrochemistry and Raman Spectroscopy for Detection of Drugs of Abuse
Monday, March 08, 2021: 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM
Speaker(s)
Description
The analysis of drugs of abuse constitutes a large majority of the casework received and processed by forensic laboratories across the country. Methods for field detection of these substances are subjective or struggle with mixture interpretation and possible interferences present in the environment. Furthermore, confirmatory analysis methods are generally confined to the laboratory, costly, and time-consuming. Electrochemistry serves as a promising technique for sensitive and selective detection of common drugs of abuse. It supports the incorporation of spectroscopy to enhance the reliability and usefulness of the analysis technique. Spectroelectrochemical measurements were performed on a panel of 5 drugs and 10 cutting agents/adulterants. Screen-printed electrodes of various materials and surface modifications were used with cyclic and square-wave voltammetry. Analysis of these substances was subsequently performed using the SPELEC combination potentiostat/Raman spectrometer with 785 nm laser.
An in-house library was generated from voltammograms and Raman spectra to analyze unknowns and mixture samples at varying ratios incorporating both drugs and diluents to simulate “street-like” samples. “Ground truth” was established through the creation of a validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. Python, R, and JMP were assessed for their use in coding algorithms to identify samples against the library. Also, density functional theory was utilized to generate theoretical Raman spectra for the analytes.
The orthogonal information offered by electrochemical voltammograms and Raman spectra provides improved selectivity over individual techniques. It represents an opportunity to provide real-time information to investigators in the field through portable instrumentation and a laboratory solution for screening unknown substances.
Additional Info
Keywords: Please select up to 4 keywords ONLY:
Spectroelectrochemistry,Voltammetry,Raman/Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
For Technical Support with this webpage, please contact support.