Project description
AI platform for forensic drug-related investigations
The rapid changes and increasing number of unknown new psychoactive substances (NPSs) nowadays make early warning activities even more challenging than before. Instruments with up-to-date libraries allow for the rapid identification of drugs of abuse but with limitations. The EU-funded NARCOSIS project aims to develop a reliable and collaborative approach to support the EU Early Warning System for a rapid detection of NPSs and fast response to investigators. The project will create a diagnostic platform that can adapt and update as needed. It will be pivotal for both on-site and laboratory screening, establishing a shared reference spectra database for faster illicit drug identification by means of heuristic AI-driven tools trained on chemical features instead of names and illicit drug categories.
Objective
The rapidly changing nature of the New Psychoactive Substance (NPS) market and the overall large number of substances that need to be monitored have presented challenges for early warning activities in recent years. Since the number of illicit drug classes is growing exponentially over time, the current challenge is no longer to search substances during an investigation, but rather to provide a sort of preliminary identification of the substance as illicit, i.e. to tag it as such, especially when it is a new type of drug. Today several instruments equipped with up-to-date libraries allow for the rapid identification of drugs of abuse. However, this approach suffers from four main problems: 1) The instruments’ libraries are not updated regularly; 2) The instruments do not easily overcome the matrix effect; 3) NPSs are trafficked and sold in smaller doses, making their detection and identification more difficult; 4) Routine methods of analysis during forensic analysis are no longer effective in screening drugs of abuse, the parent drugs but also their metabolites, due to the lack of structural information and commercial reference materials. NARCOSIS (Non-tArgeted foRensic multidisCiplinary platfOrm for inveStigatIon of drug-related fatalitieS) will provide a set of features for fast, robust, and reliable multidisciplinary approach to harmonise forensic investigations by means of an up-to-date and updateable diagnostic platform with the following key features: 1) A set of selected orthogonal instruments operable both on-site and in laboratories (Raman/SERS, IR, HSI, HRMS) will be adapted to be used with the NARCOSIS platform; 2) Build a comparable and shareable (cross-organisation) reference spectra (meta-spectra) database for faster detection and identification of drugs of abuse; 3) Create an AI-assisted spectra management and integration toolkit for analytical measurements to support the EU Early Warning System to rapidly detect, assess and respond to NPS.
Fields of science
Not validated
Not validated
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation ActionsCoordinator
00196 Roma
Italy