Non-contact vapor detection of illicit drugs <i>via</i> atmospheric flow tube-mass spectrometry

Morrison, Kelsey A.; Valenzuela, Blandina R.; Denis, Elizabeth; Nims, Megan K.; Atkinson, David; Clowers, Brian H.; Ewing, Robert G.

doi:10.1039/d0an00691b

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Many low-volatility explosives have not yet had vapor pressures determined directly at ambient temperatures. In addition to explosives, there is significant utility in characterizing the vapor pressures of illicit drugs, pesticides, and additional compounds of interest for trace vapor detection and other applications.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vapor Pressures of RDX and HMX Explosives Measured at and Near Room Temperature: 1,3,5-Trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane and 1,3,5,7-Tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane

et al. 2021

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Knowing accurate saturated vapor pressures of explosives at ambient conditions is imperative to provide realistic boundaries on available vapor for ultra-trace detection. In quantifying vapor content emanating from low-volatility explosives, we observed discrepancies between the quantity of explosive expected based on literature vapor pressure values and the amount detected near ambient temperatures. Most vapor pressure measurements for low-volatility explosives, such as RDX (1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane) and HMX (1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane), have been made at temperatures far exceeding 25 °C and linear extrapolation of these higher temperature trends appears to underestimate vapor pressures near room temperature. Our goal was to measure vapor pressures as a function of temperature closer to ambient conditions. We used saturated RDX and HMX vapor sources at controlled temperatures to produce vapors that were then collected and analyzed via atmospheric flow tube-mass spectrometry (AFT-MS). The parts-per-quadrillion (ppqv) sensitivity of AFT-MS enabled measurement of RDX vapor pressures at temperatures as low as 7 °C and HMX vapor pressures at temperatures as low as 40 °C for the first time. Furthermore, these vapor pressures were corroborated with analysis of vapor generated by nebulizing low concentration solutions of RDX and HMX. We report updated vapor pressure values for both RDX and HMX. Based on our measurements, the vapor pressure of RDX at 25 °C is 3 ± 1 × 10–11 atm (i.e., 30 parts per trillion by volume, pptv), the vapor pressure of HMX is 1.0 ± 0.6 × 10–14 atm (10 ppqv) at 40 °C and, with extrapolation, HMX has a vapor pressure of 1.0 ± 0.6 × 10–15 atm (1.0 ppqv) at 25 °C.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vapor Pressures of RDX and HMX Explosives Measured at and Near Room Temperature: 1,3,5-Trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane and 1,3,5,7-Tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane

et al. 2021

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“…Implications for Detection. The AFT-MS provides ultratrace vapor detection levels down to the low parts per quadrillion by volume (ppq v ) for certain analytes such as drugs, 4 explosives, 30 and organophosphorus compounds. 7 These low levels of detection are achieved by providing a few seconds of ionization time at ambient pressure compared to milliseconds from common ambient ionization techniques such as corona discharge or electrospray.…”

Section: T H I S C O N T E N T Imentioning

confidence: 99%

“…27 The purpose of this study was to determine proton affinity values of fentanyl and various fentanyl analogues through molecular modeling and perform an experimental competitive ionization study with mass spectrometry. Experimental data was collected using atmospheric flow tube-mass spectrometry (AFT-MS), 4,7,30 which provided MS/MS fragmentation patterns of heterodimers to estimate relative proton affinity values. The high proton affinity values of the fentanyl compounds and the extended ion−molecule reaction time with AFT-MS enabled low femtogram levels of detection in air.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Atmospheric Flow Tube-Mass Spectrometry. An atmospheric flow tube (AFT) was coupled to a mass spectrometer (MS) with a similar setup to that described in Morrison et al 4 The AFT consisted of an enclosure for thermal desorption, an inlet for dopant vapor introduction, and an APCI source. Specifically, the APCI source was a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) source, 30 which consisted of a miniature neon light bulb with one of the inner leads connected to one end of an RF power supply, which produced a 42 kHz waveform with a 2.5 kV p-p voltage using approximately 60 mA of current.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Proton Affinity Values of Fentanyl and Fentanyl Analogues Pertinent to Ambient Ionization and Detection

Denis

Bade

Renslow

et al. 2022

J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom.

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Proton affinity is a major factor in the atmospheric pressure chemical ionization of illicit drugs. The detection of illicit drugs by mass spectrometry and ion mobility spectrometry relies on the analytes having greater proton affinities than background species. Evaluating proton affinities for fentanyl and its analogues is informative for predicting the likelihood of ionization in different environments and for optimizing the compounds’ ionization and detection, such as through the addition of dopant chemicals. Herein, density functional theory was used to computationally determine the proton affinity and gas-phase basicity of 15 fentanyl compounds and several relevant molecules as a reference point. The range of proton affinities for the fentanyl compounds was from 1018 to 1078 kJ/mol. Fentanyl compounds with the higher proton affinity values appeared to form a bridge between the oxygen on the amide and the protonated nitrogen on the piperidine ring based on models and calculated bond distances. Experiments with fragmentation of proton-bound clusters using atmospheric flow tube-mass spectrometry (AFT-MS) provided estimates of relative proton affinities and showed proton affinity values of fentanyl compounds >1000 kJ/mol, which were consistent with the computational results. The high proton affinities of fentanyl compounds facilitate their detection by ambient ionization techniques in complex environments. The detection limits of the fentanyl compounds with AFT-MS are in the low femtogram range, which demonstrates the feasibility of trace vapor drug detection.

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“…Although drugs can be used to treat illnesses, they can also damage living things if taken in excess [ 153 , 154 ]. Detecting the content of drugs is crucial [ 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 ]. Streptomyces kanamyceticus produces the aminoglycoside antibiotic known as kanamycin, which is prescribed to animals to treat infections.…”

Section: Overview Of Lc Droplet-based Biosensors For Poc Diagnosis Of...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid Crystal Droplet-Based Biosensors: Promising for Point-of-Care Testing

Xie

et al. 2022

Biosensors

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The development of biosensing platforms has been impressively accelerated by advancements in liquid crystal (LC) technology. High response rate, easy operation, and good stability of the LC droplet-based biosensors are all benefits of the long-range order of LC molecules. Bioprobes emerged when LC droplets were combined with biotechnology, and these bioprobes are used extensively for disease diagnosis, food safety, and environmental monitoring. The LC droplet biosensors have high sensitivity and excellent selectivity, making them an attractive tool for the label-free, economical, and real-time detection of different targets. Portable devices work well as the accessory kits for LC droplet-based biosensors to make them easier to use by anyone for on-site monitoring of targets. Herein, we offer a review of the latest developments in the design of LC droplet-based biosensors for qualitative target monitoring and quantitative target analysis.

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Non-contact vapor detection of illicit drugs via atmospheric flow tube-mass spectrometry

Abstract: Atmospheric flow tube-mass spectrometry (AFT-MS) enables real-time, non-contact detection of fentanyl, heroin, and other illicit drugs at parts-per-quadrillion vapor levels or from femtograms of residue.

Cited by 10 publications

References 28 publications

Vapor Pressures of RDX and HMX Explosives Measured at and Near Room Temperature: 1,3,5-Trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane and 1,3,5,7-Tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane

Vapor Pressures of RDX and HMX Explosives Measured at and Near Room Temperature: 1,3,5-Trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane and 1,3,5,7-Tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocane

Proton Affinity Values of Fentanyl and Fentanyl Analogues Pertinent to Ambient Ionization and Detection

Liquid Crystal Droplet-Based Biosensors: Promising for Point-of-Care Testing

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