SKM Instruments, Inc.

Low-cost, User-friendly Sers Technology for Rapid Detection of Emerging Drug Threats - Project Summary: the Rising Incidences of Synthetic Opioids Misuse and Emerging Psychoactive Substances Pose Significant Challenges for Public Health and Forensic Toxicology. Conventional Detection Methods Such as Liquid Chromatography-mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) Offer High Sensitivity and Specificity But Are Costly, Require Skilled Operators, and Are Not Feasible for Rapid, Point-of-care Applications. to Address These Limitations, This Project Aims to Develop a Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (sers)-based Lateral Flow Assay for the Rapid Detection and Quantification of Existing and Emerging Illicit Drugs in Urine Samples. This Platform Is Designed to Provide Comparable Analytical Performance of LC-MS While Reducing Costs, Increasing Portability, and Enabling Drug Testing in Resource-limited Settings Such as Rural Health Clinics, Emergency Departments and Harm Reduction Centers. the Proposed Approach Integrates Three Key Innovations: (1) a Sers-active Lateral Flow Cartridge That Processes the Urine Sample – Removing Potential Interferents While Simultaneously Separating Drug Mixtures and Metabolites by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). Raman Signals Are Enhanced via Embedded Nanoparticles in the TLC Material for High-sensitivity Detection. the Sers Approach Is a Label-free Technique That Directly Measures the Unique Vibrational Modes of Drug Molecules, Eliminating the Need for Biological Elements Like Antibodies or Aptamers. Unlike Labeled Methods, It Has No Strict Shelf-life or Storage Requirements and Can Rapidly Adapt to Emerging Drugs, for Which Specific Biological Recognition Elements Are Unavailable; (2) a Low-cost, Fourier Transform Raman (ft-raman) Instrument Engineered for Portability. the Ft-raman System Offers Several Advantages Over Typical Dispersive Raman Systems: It Provides Higher Spectral Accuracy Through Interferometer-based Calibration. Additionally, Ft-raman System Uses a Nir Excitation Source to Reduce Fluorescence From Biological Samples. With Fewer Moving Parts, the Ft-raman System Offers More Stability and Requires Less Maintenance; (3) Advanced Chemometrics / Machine Learning Algorithms for Spectral Analysis, Enabling Precise Identification and Quantification of Drug Compounds and Their Metabolites. Future Phases Will Focus on Prototype Refinement and Commercialization, Targeting a Per-test Cost Below $10 to Enhance Accessibility. Successful Development of This Technology Has the Potential to Transform Drug Testing by Enabling Real-time, Reliable, Highly Sensitive Detection in Decentralized Settings, Improving Clinical Decision- Making and Public Health Interventions.