Anton Luf

Department of Laboratory Medicine | Medical University of Vienna | Vienna (AT)

Lecture:
Analytic techniques utilised for Drug Checking - Challenges and current developments 

Mobile drugchecking at EDM (electronic dance music) events has been provided by the Viennese addiction prevention project checkit! for over 20 years. Like the music itself, the substance market and the composition of the substances consumed at these events have changed constantly over the past two decades. This circumstance makes it necessary to find suitable analytical methods for the identification and quantification and to adapt the employed methods to the constantly changing conditions.  Only a few analytical methods are available for comprehensive drugchecking for harm reduction, which are also suitable for mobile use.

The methods used so far in this context range from simple colour reaction tests to infrared spectroscopy and HPLC to mass spectrometry. However, the developments of recent years - especially the appearance of highly potent synthetic opioids in classical recreational and i.v. drugs - have shown that many of these methods have reached their limits in the breakdown of drug-composition.

Especially the detection of highly potent fentanyl derivatives in low concentrations as substitute or in addition to substances, which are often effective in doses 100 times higher, places high demands on the analysis of these substance mixtures, which are difficult to handle for the consumers.  These challenges and other considerations of mobile drugchecking will be addressed in this talk.