Recent advances in the direct electrochemical detection of drugs of abuse
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REVIEW PAPER
Recent advances in the direct electrochemical detection of drugs of abuse Barbara Zanfrognini 1 & Laura Pigani 2 & Chiara Zanardi 1,2 Received: 16 May 2020 / Revised: 28 May 2020 / Accepted: 29 May 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract In the last decade, the trafficking and use of illicit drugs showed a continuous incremental trend, remaining worldwide a challenging problem for the consequences on society, health, criminality, and environment. The introduction on the market of new products and of illicit synthetic compounds represents a new challenging task for analytical chemistry, looking for rapid and accurate methods for the detection of illicit substances in seized street samples, biological fluids, and wastewater. In this context, electrochemical sensors have shown promising results as an alternative to standard chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. This review aims at highlighting the most recent progresses in the use of electrochemistry for the detection of drugs of abuse, mainly including well consolidated substances like cannabinoids, cocaine, opioids, ecstasy, and methamphetamine as well as new psychoactive molecules widely diffused at the present time. Different strategies have been described particularly consisting in the direct electrochemical oxidation of the target analyte. The implementation of tailor-made portable instruments with electrochemical detection methods constitutes an added value to improve the effectiveness of electrochemical sensors for the identification of psychoactive substances when performing large-scale sampling tests. Keywords Electrochemistry . Illicit drugs . Forensic science . Voltammetric sensors . Psychotropic substances
Introduction In the last decade, the trafficking and use of illicit drugs showed a continuous incremental trend, remaining worldwide a challenging problem for the consequences on society, health, criminality, and environment [1, 2]. Psychotropic effects promoted by drug consumption indirectly affect the population in terms of increasing number of accidents due to reduced driving ability, drug-related crimes and violence, drug-facilitated sexual assaults, spreading of infectious diseases, etc. Other non-negligible effects are environmental damages: the shift of cultivation patterns to grow illicit drugs, the improper disposal of clandestine laboratory toxic wastes,
* Chiara Zanardi [email protected] 1
Institute of Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
2
Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via G. Campi 103, 41125 Modena, Italy
and the accumulation of illicit drugs and their metabolites in urban wastewater. In Europe, cannabis is one of the most established drugs with nearly 20% of young adults having used it in the last year; its psychotropic effects are due to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), imparting the feeling of euphoria and anxiety. In rec
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