Beyond Fentanyl Test Strips: Investigating Other Urine Drug Test Strips for Drug Checking Applications

Abstract

Use of immunoassay test strips for the detection of fentanyl in drug samples has become increasingly commonplace in harm reduction, law enforcement, public health, customs, and forensic science settings. With the increase of xylazine in the drug supply in recent years, use of xylazine test strips has also begun to take root. As adoption and implementation of this tool continues, a desire to implement test strips for other drugs may emerge. However, since these strips are designed for urine testing, it is important to understand their applicability to testing drugs themselves. In this work, we investigate the utility of seven types of urine immunoassay test strips – amphetamine, benzodiazepine, cocaine, methamphetamine, nitazene, opiate, and xylazine – for drug checking applications. Reproducibility, sensitivity, cross-reactivity, and the effect of prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures were studied. Generally, the tests were found to be reproducible, able to detect trace (µg/mL) levels of the analyte of interest, and minimally affected by prolonged storage at elevated temperatures. Nearly all tests showed cross-reactivity with compounds other than the analyte of interest, highlighting the need to better understand these limitations prior to implementation in a drug checking scenario (that may involve additional chemical analysis on or off site). The viability of expired cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine and test strips was also interrogated, and little to no change in sensitivity was found even though the tests were multiple years expired.