Essay on Drug Indicative Analysis

        In the whole world, there is opioid crisis and agencies of harm reduction are struggling to help the people who tend to use drugs. Clinics and sites of harm reduction are increasing over the globe, making it quite critical to provide precise tools and knowledge to workers for helping drug victims. Substance, pill, and drug testing are being used as a strategy for decreasing the risks of adverse effects. Furthermore, drug indicative analysis and testing are becoming more common in Canada at music festivals. The Health’s Standing Committee in Canada suggested that the Canadian Government should grant requests under the Act of Controlled Drugs and Substances so to conduct drug analysis and tests at desired sites. When it comes to drug testing, there are 3 initial advantages that are gained including; a worldwide image of drugs in the circulation can be formed, adverse effects can be evaded, awareness can be increased regarding the drug.

             SWGDRUG or Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of Seized Drugs has validated the following methods. These groups involve experts of subject-matter who work together to evaluate the best practices and create specific consensus standards. Therefore, these methods have been proven to not only be efficient but also effective in the identification of substances which are unknown. Not every method can be used commonly because some need a lot of technical knowledge or professional tools. Discriminatory methods actually carry a greater tag of price for investing in proper equipment. Thus, it might require an analysis of cost-benefit or community partnerships (Harper, Powell and Pijl).

         MS or Mass Spectrometry is quite a common discriminatory drug indicative analysis. The molecular mass is precisely measured by the mass spectrometry by the m/z ration of ions. This technique is actually the top standard in the laboratories of drug testing. Generally, detection, ionization, and separation are required in the mass spectrometry. Capillary electrophoresis, liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography can be used to accomplish separation. For ionization, different methods can be utilized. Commonly, direct analysis, fast atom bombardment, photoionization of atmospheric pressure, laser desorption ionization that is matrix-assisted, electrospray ionization, and chemical ionization are used for illicit substances. It can be said that DART or direct analysis in real time gains a lot of attention since it enables non-destructive experimenting, is capable of quantifying quickly, and is fast. When a pill is placed in front of the stream of gas, every molecular specie can be determined in just seconds. This technique doesn’t need each specie’s distribution before the analysis.

            From a virtual perspective, almost any substance can be analyzed using the technique of MS together with a technique of separation. Additionally, the sensitivity of mass spectrometers enables the identification of analytes at a concentration in the range of attomolar. Sensitivity has been increased by MS over other techniques since the filter and analyzer decreased the interference at the background. Excellent specificity is demonstrated by it because of scarce filtering abilities, high resolution, and fragmentation patterns present in higher or tandem order of MS. It can be said that MS provides information regarding isotopic abundance and molecular mass of elements. Additionally, new devices are simpler and easier to use with their small sizes. Using computers for interfacing enables making the indicative process easier and refined searches.

            MS has quite a major drawback. The tested sample is destroyed by the process of testing and the only exception is Dart. The required amount is very small, almost in milligrams. Furthermore, there are continuing costs because of the required consumable products. Some of these products are also hazardous. It is very important to separate complex mixtures with a technique of chromatographic for the correct identification of each constituent. The expertise that is needed to use this method is medium to high. Scientists ought to have some knowledge regarding the specific instruments and technology. Also, there are significant operational costs like routine service and maintenance, items for sample preparation, gas consumables, and chromatography reagents (Harrison).

             There is another method that is used for the identification of drugs. IMS or ion mobility spectrometry identifies and separates ions on the basis of their speed through a gas carrier. It can be said that ion mobility depends on 3 molecular specifications; ion's collision cross-section, reduced mass, and the charge. Ionization is required by IMS prior to the passing of samples into the whole instrument. It is achievable using coronal discharge, APPI, MALDI, or ESI. When it comes to an ion mobility spectrometer, there are various designs such as differential mobility, asymmetric waveform, traveling wave, ion trap, and drift tube. Ion mobility is determined by the IMS of the drift tube on the basis of the time that it consumes for reaching the detector. A drift tube is used by modern instruments for the drug indicative analysis.

            Any illicit substance’s small molecule can be identified accurately and quickly using IMS. The sensitivity of FAIMS is actually based on various specifications of the physical environment and ion of interest. IMS is quite precise and can choose a molecule in almost a billion of ppb. This selectivity of IMS can be enhanced further when the scientist is using FAIMS. The capability of FAIMS is quite efficient in operating in an environment with interference's high levels with non-existent adjustment to conditions of operations. In addition, the determination is quite swift and it can be achieved in only a few seconds for even a very complex sample (Lanucara, Holman and Gray).

             Overall, it can be said that there is an opioid crisis worldwide and countless agencies related to harm reduction are working very hard for helping individuals that use drugs. There are different techniques that are used for analyzing drugs and identifying the unknown ones. These methods have their benefits and limitations. In this paper, only MS and IMS are discussed. These drug identification techniques are quite efficient and only a limited number of laboratories and clinics seem to support these techniques due to their tough requirements and expertise. However, with the advancement of technology, these drug indicative methods are becoming more proficient.

References of Drug Indicative Analysis

Harper, Lane, Jeff Powell and Em M. Pijl. "An overview of forensic drug testing methods and their suitability for harm reduction point-of-care services." Harm reduction journal 14.1 (2017): 52.

Harrison, Alex G. Chemical ionization mass spectrometry. Routledge, 2018.

Lanucara, Francesco, et al. "The power of ion mobility-mass spectrometry for structural characterization and the study of conformational dynamics." Nature chemistry 6.4 (2014).