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With the sustained prevalence and introduction of emerging drugs throughout the world there is a need for continued development and maintenance of platforms that enable rapid identification and characterization of unknown compounds. To complement existing
The reference data and software tools provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Mass Spectrometry Data Center (NIST MSDC) are reviewed with a focus on the identification of fentanyl related substances (FRS). The MSDC provides three
Erin Russell, Edward Sisco, Allison Thomson, Jasmine Lopes, Dana Heilman, Margaret Rybak, Malik Burnett, Meghan Appley, Matthew Gladden
Maryland overdose deaths increased 16%, to a record high of 2,912 deaths during the 12-month period from July 2020 to June 2021. Illicitly manufactured fentanyl and/or fentanyl analogs* contributed to 84% of these overdose deaths.† Timely public health
Over the past decade, seized drug analysis has been faced with several unique challenges that have pushed the limits of existing instrumentation and workflows. Practitioners are now often faced with increasing caseloads of complex samples that may contain
Public health, public safety, and forensic science personnel continue to face the emergence of new compounds into the drug market. While focus is often put on the detection of new analogs of known illicit drugs, monitoring the changes in cutting agents and
Colby Ott, Amber Burns, Edward Sisco, Luis Eduardo Arroyo
Effective and rapid screening methods for seized drug analysis are crucial to ensure the safety of first responders and laboratory personnel, while reducing overall analysis time and improving reliability. The drug landscape has been overwhelmed by
Meghan Appley, Liz Robinson, Allison Thomson, Erin Russell, Edward Sisco
Deaths attributed to drug overdoses are constantly on the rise, but drug trends are frequently changing and often differ across geographical regions. Current analytical techniques are limited in their abilities to rapidly identify drugs that would inform
Controlled substances are one of the most frequently analyzed types of evidence in forensic laboratories. An increase in frequency of seizures in recent years has necessitated a need for rapid screening techniques to decrease case backlogs and expedite
Reductions in instrument size, weight, and power continue to facilitate the development and application of field-deployable devices for investigative purposes. Portable analytical instrumentation supporting the rapid and reliable identification of two
Chuck Barber, Colleen E. Bryan Sallee, Carolyn Burdette, Shaun Kotoski, Melissa M. Phillips, Walter Brent Wilson, Laura Wood
In 2020, NIST launched Cannabis Laboratory Quality Assurance Program (CannaQAP) to improve the comparability of the analytical measurements of cannabis and cannabis-derived products in forensic and cannabis (hemp and marijuana) testing laboratories
Rapid identification of new or emerging psychoactive substances remains a critical challenge in drug chemistry laboratories. Current analytical protocols are well designed for confirmation of known substances yet present struggles when potentially new
Edward Sisco, Meghan Appley, Stephen Tennyson, Arun Moorthy
Chromatographic-less mass spectrometry techniques like direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) are steadily being employed as seized drug screening tools. However, these newer analytical platforms require new computational methods to best
Edward Sisco, Amber Burns, Elizabeth Schneider, Laurel Bobka, Ikenna Ikpeama
Direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) is an increasingly employed tool for a wide range of forensic applications including seized drug analysis. A significant body of research surrounds DART-MS for the analysis of seized drugs and how it
Drug scheduling has directed the testing approaches for forensic laboratories since the 1970s when Cannabis (marijuana and hemp) and its psychoactive constituent, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), were classified as Schedule 1 controlled substances. Seized
Edward Sisco, Amber Burns, Elizabeth Schneider, Ikenna Ikpeama
Rapid and accurate screening tools for seized drug analysis continue to be needed due to the complexities associated with the emerging drug landscape. Direct analysis in real-time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) is one technique that has been used for this
Edward Sisco, Amber Burns, Elizabeth Schneider, Charles R. Miller, IV, Laurel Bobka
As the challenges faced by drug chemists continue to persist, due the presence of synthetic opioids, novel psychoactive substances, and other emerging drugs, laboratories are continuing to look for new analytical approaches or techniques to ease the
Edward Sisco, Amber Burns, Elizabeth Schneider, Charles R. Miller, IV, Laurel Bobka
As the challenges faced by drug chemists continue to persist, due the presence of synthetic opioids, novel psychoactive substances, and other emerging drugs, laboratories are continuing to look for new analytical approaches or techniques to ease the