"Potential for on-Site, Prosecutorial Evidence from Drug Residues Colle" by Daniel S. Burr

Graduation Term

2019

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of Chemistry

Committee Chair

Jeremy D. Driskell

Abstract

Given the potential impact of improvements to on-site drug testing, as well as recent, successful displays of paper spray ionization mass spectrometry (PSI-MS) in this regard, this thesis pilots the implementation of Raman spectroscopy as a compliment to MS for field-based confirmatory drug testing. Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is utilized for applications to trace detection. Two-tiered analysis of individual drug samples is enabled using triangularly-cut plasmonic papers, from which both SERS and PS-MS analysis may be performed. Several drug compounds, representative of traditional and emerging drug types, are examined by these techniques, both separately and as a fully integrated, SERS-PSI-MS testing platform. The unique benefits offered by Raman/SERS are demonstrated via discrimination of isomers that are indistinguishable by MS. Optimization of the coupled, analytical platform culminate in a standard operating procedure, which is implemented in an error-rate study (N = 500) performed for sub-microgram quantities of drugs deposited on plasmonic papers.

Access Type

Thesis-Open Access

DOI

http://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2019.Burr.D

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