Rapid screening of 2-benzylbenzimidazole nitazene analogs in suspect counterfeit tablets using Raman, SERS, DART-TD-MS, and FT-IR.

Developing methods to rapidly screen for novel synthetic 2-benzylbenzimidazole opioids, also known as nitazenes, has become increasingly important due to their high potency. These compounds have potency comparable or exceeding that of fentanyl by up to 10 times and have been implicated in approximately 5% of all drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2021. This paper details the authenticity determination of suspect tablets and the identification of three nitazene analogs (N-pyrrolidino etonitazene, isotonitazene, and etodesnitazene) in suspect tablets seized at a mail facility using Raman and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) with handheld devices, portable Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), and a direct analysis in real-time ambient ionization coupled to a thermal desorption unit and a mass spectrometer (DART-TD-MS).

An evaluation of M interference correction approaches associated with As and Se in ICP-MS using a multi-day dataset along with ICP-MS/MS/HR-ICP-MS based analysis and hierarchical modeling as a means of assessing bias in fortified drinking waters and single component matrices.

Three mass oriented rare earth element (REE) M correction approaches (fixed factor, a dual internal standard, and an in-sample) are evaluated for use in an ICP-MS environmental method update. The multi-variant-based evaluation includes analyzing the same 19 REE-fortified matrices on eight different days over a two-month period using two instrument tunes. These REE-fortified matrices were also analyzed using HR-ICP-MS and ICP-MS/MS to estimate the reference value for use in the principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical modeling evaluation.

Screening suspect pharmaceuticals for illicit designer benzodiazepines using raman, SERS, and FT-IR prior to comprehensive analysis using LC-MS.

The emergence of illicit designer benzodiazepines with high dependency and no approved clinical use are of great US public health concern. Due to the increasing numbers of illicit designer benzodiazepines encountered in the US supply chain, there is a need to develop robust analytical methods that can rapidly detect these chemicals. Suspect counterfeit tablets, powders, or liquid formulations were first screened using Raman spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy (SERS) for the presence of legal or illicit benzodiazepines, and then further analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric detection (LC-MS).

Analytical considerations associated with implementing M correction factors to address false positives on As and Se within U.S. EPA method 200.8.

Rare earth elements (REE) can produce M ions in ICP-MS and Nd, Sm, and Gd can produce false positives on As and Se. Alternative instrumental tuning conditions, that utilize lower He flows within the collision cell, reduce these false positives by a factor of 2 (to 0.8 ppb As and 19 ppb Se in solutions containing 50 ppb Nd and Gd) with comparable OCl reduction (<100 ppt false V in 0.