A University of Pittsburgh research team led by chemistry professor Alexander Star has developed a fentanyl sensor that can detect the difference between fentanyl and other drugs.”We’re working with really small amount of fentanyl because our sensors are really sensitive,” said Dr. Wenting Shao, a postdoctoral associate who is a lead researcher on the team.Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is about 100 times more potent than morphine and has helped fuel an increase in overdose deaths in the country.”Fentanyl is now being mixed with other drugs to increase the potency of those drugs,” Dr. Shao explained.The team’s research was published in the journal Small last month.The paper’s abstract section reads, in part: “The surge in overdose fatalities, particularly due to illicitly manufactured fentanyl and its contamination of street drugs, emphasizes the urgency for drug-testing technologies that can quickly and accurately identify fentanyl from other drugs and quantify trace amounts of fentanyl.”Shao explained that the sensor, similar to one the team developed to detect COVID-19 antigens, uses carbon nanotubes and gold nanoparticles to tell fentanyl apart from other opioids.Attached to the nanoparticles are fentanyl antibodies, which help the team reach an “unprecedented level of sensitivity.””So we kind of switched from COVID antibodies to fentanyl antibodies,” Shao said.The fentanyl sensor detects the opioid on the femtomolar scale, which is 10-15 moles per liter. “We can use our sensor technology to detect this trace amount of fentanyl,” Shao said.She explained that while the project is a while away from commercialization, she would like to see it used by law enforcement agencies in the future.”It will be good, for example, for police to do some on-site detection if they encounter this unknown drug sample,” Shao said.To learn more about the research, watch the video above.
A University of Pittsburgh research team led by chemistry professor Alexander Star has developed a fentanyl sensor that can detect the difference between fentanyl and other drugs.
“We’re working with really small amount of fentanyl because our sensors are really sensitive,” said Dr. Wenting Shao, a postdoctoral associate who is a lead researcher on the team.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is about 100 times more potent than morphine and has helped fuel an increase in overdose deaths in the country.
“Fentanyl is now being mixed with other drugs to increase the potency of those drugs,” Dr. Shao explained.
The team’s research was published in the journal Small last month.
The paper’s abstract section reads, in part: “The surge in overdose fatalities, particularly due to illicitly manufactured fentanyl and its contamination of street drugs, emphasizes the urgency for drug-testing technologies that can quickly and accurately identify fentanyl from other drugs and quantify trace amounts of fentanyl.”
Shao explained that the sensor, similar to one the team developed to detect COVID-19 antigens, uses carbon nanotubes and gold nanoparticles to tell fentanyl apart from other opioids.
Attached to the nanoparticles are fentanyl antibodies, which help the team reach an “unprecedented level of sensitivity.”
“So we kind of switched from COVID antibodies to fentanyl antibodies,” Shao said.
The fentanyl sensor detects the opioid on the femtomolar scale, which is 10-15 moles per liter. “We can use our sensor technology to detect this trace amount of fentanyl,” Shao said.
She explained that while the project is a while away from commercialization, she would like to see it used by law enforcement agencies in the future.
“It will be good, for example, for police to do some on-site detection if they encounter this unknown drug sample,” Shao said.
To learn more about the research, watch the video above.
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