Identification of Opioids and Related Substances using Handheld Raman Spectrometers

This study describes the performance of handheld Raman devices for detecting one hundred opioids and related substances including fentanyl and several analogs. Using a single “parent” device, signatures (spectra) with excellent signal-to-noise ratios were generated using <5 mg of most compounds. The signatures were added to a method (library), which was electronically transferred to three “daughter” devices. The devices were able to discriminate different salt forms and isomers. On average, the daughter devices yielded a true-positive rate of 97.3% for generating an alarm for opioids and were 93.3% effective for correctly identifying the opioid. The devices yielded true-negative, false-positive and false-negative rates of 100%, 0%, and 2.7%, respectively, where false negatives were due to weak signal and fluorescence. These data demonstrate that the parent-daughter electronic transfer method was successful and effective, which permits the ability to develop methods in the laboratory that can be seamlessly pushed out to field devices.