Periodic Reporting for period 2 - BorderSens (Border detection of illicit drugs and precursors by highly accurate electrosensors)
Período documentado: 2021-03-01 hasta 2022-08-31
Objectives:
• Rapid and simultaneous electrochemical detection and identification of illicit drugs (including cutting agents and adulterants) and their precursors. BorderSens targets at detecting illicit drugs and precursors that pose real, pertaining challenges to EU border control authorities, by active participation of end-users as partners (10 organisations) and members of the advisory board.
• Excellent selectivity and sensitivity and outstanding accuracy, through the combination of innovative and advanced smart nanomaterials i.e. nanoMIPs, electrochemical methods, and multivariate analysis and pattern data analysis with specifications to allow analysis in-field.
• Development of a low cost user-friendly handheld (wireless) prototype device for drug detection on-site, demonstrated in-field that is used by different authorities without scientific knowledge or training, with alarm function for new substances.
Reduce false positives and false negatives in the detection of illicit drugs and precursors from commercial devices (e.g. presumptive color tests and spectroscopic devices). Notwithstanding its’ wide spread use, the colour tests are prone to both false positive and false negative results as well as faulty identification failing to warrant the necessary top-quality screening in on-site settings.
Portable spectroscopic devices based on Raman spectroscopy exhibit some drawbacks, particularly with colored samples, and the high cost and low portability of the devices hinder the deployment of these devices among border settings. BorderSens brings a solution to both inaccurate colour tests and expensive spectroscopic devices targeting conventional samples, colored samples and challenging smuggled samples (e.g. impregnated cloth, charcoal, or impregnated wood).
In general, the outcome of Bordersens device would greatly impact the “war on drugs”, since drug trafficking and abuse is of major concern in modern societies, having devastating effects on communities, families and individuals, being linked to other criminal- and terrorist activities, straining government institutions, and dragging down the wider economy. Particularly, Bordersens device facilitates the work of law enforcement officers in the borders as well as in forensic laboratories by unravelling the presence of illicit drugs in challenging samples.
i) nanoMIPS strategy aiming for high selectivity of a specific target detection;
ii) unmodified SPE aiming for the screening of suspicious samples for a confirmation of a set of samples (e.g. cocaine);
iii) modified electrodes (either nanomaterials or chemical modifications) following a similar screening approach as the unmodified electrodes, but showing complementary information, pursuing the confirmation of a set of targets (e.g. opioids or amphetamine-type substances).
iv) combination of different type of electrodes/materials to increase the identification of a broad set of targets.
Scheme 1.
Overall, BorderSens expect to provide a reusable device with different consumables each one targeting a group of end-users. Each consumable can be modified with nanoMIPS, unmodified or nanomaterials which will target a specific use case. We aim to provide a similar approach used in the field (e.g. presumptive color testing based on a flow chart), but with much more accuracy and reliability.
The valorisation of the electrochemical technologies will be accomplished by providing a prototype that addresses end-users’ needs. This is accomplished by including all the feedback from the end-users into the design of the prototype. Therefore, the IP from the prototypes will be licensed or implemented in the creation of a startup at the end of the project, maximizing the socio-economic impact of BorderSens. The availability of a new technology/product in the market will facilitate the work of law enforcement agencies. All in all, the decrease in the amount of illicit drugs available in the market will provide a secure and healthy society.