ArticleDrug and alcohol review2022
A new quantitative drug checking technology for harm reduction: Pilot study in Vancouver, Canada using paper spray mass spectrometry.
Article in Drug and alcohol review, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Drug checking services for people who use drugs: a systematic review.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2022Pooled it
- Impact of Salt and Urine Matrices on Electrokinetic Stacking Coupled to Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry.Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry · 2026Article
- Neural Network-Based Detection of Adulterants in Opioid Samples Using IR Absorption Spectroscopy.Drug testing and analysis · 2026Article
- Street drug monitoring with networked spectrometers powered by machine learning: a pilot study in Ontario, Canada.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- From trash to results: shortcomings and benefits of paraphernalia-based drug checking in Finland.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Harm reduction approaches for the use of benzodiazepines: a scoping review.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Identification of the Novel Synthetic Opioid N-Pyrrolidino Isotonitazene at an Australian Drug Checking Service.Drug testing and analysis · 2025Article
- Analysis of Drugs in Whole Blood by Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry with Integrated Solid-Phase Extraction.Analytical chemistry · 2025Article
- Article
- Mixed host co-assembled systems for broad-scope analyte sensing.Chemical science · 2024Article
- How do we understand the value of drug checking as a component of harm reduction services? A qualitative exploration of client and provider perspectives.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- "It gets you high as a kite but not unsick": Characterizations of and responses to a changing local drug supply by people who use drugs in Rhode Island.The International journal on drug policy · 2024Article
- Therapeutic drug monitoring of clozapine in human serum by high-throughput paper spray mass spectrometry.Journal of mass spectrometry and advances in the clinical lab · 2024Article
- Beyond a spec: assessing heterogeneity in the unregulated opioid supply.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Testing the test strips: laboratory performance of fentanyl test strips.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Contextual factors affecting the implementation of drug checking for harm reduction: a scoping literature review from a North American perspective.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- NPAideS: a drug-checking study among 3-methylmethcathinone (3-MMC) users.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Current attitudes toward drug checking services and a comparison of expected with actual drugs present in street drug samples collected from opioid users.Harm reduction journal · 2023Article
- Insights from Drug Checking Programs: Practicing Bootstrap Public Health Whilst Tailoring to Local Drug User Needs.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Benzodiazepines in complex biological matrices: Recent updates on pretreatment and detection methods.Journal of pharmaceutical analysis · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionDrug checking services for harm reduction and overdose prevention have been implemented in many jurisdictions as a public health intervention in response to the opioid overdose crisis. This study demonstrates the first on-site use of paper spray mass spectrometry for quantitative drug checking to address the limitations of current on-site drug testing technologies.
methodsPaper spray mass spectrometry was used to provide on-site drug checking services at a supervised consumption site in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada during a 2-day pilot test in August 2019. The method included the targeted quantitative measurement of 49 drugs and an untargeted full scan to assist in identifying unknown/unexpected components.
resultsDuring the pilot, 113 samples were submitted for analysis, with 88 (78%) containing the client expected substance. Fentanyl was detected in 45 of 59 expected fentanyl samples, and in 50 (44%) samples overall at a median concentration of 3.6% (w/w%). The synthetic precursor of fentanyl, 4-anilino-N-phenethyl-piperidine (4-ANPP), was found in 74.0% of all fentanyl samples at a median concentration of 2.2%, suggesting widespread poor manufacturing practices. Etizolam was detected in 10 submitted samples anticipated to be fentanyl at a median concentration of 2.5%. No clients submitting these samples expected etizolam or a benzodiazepine in their sample. In three instances, it was co-measured with fentanyl, and in seven cases it was detected alone. DISCUSSION AND
conclusionsThe quantitative capabilities and low detection limits demonstrated by paper spray mass spectrometry offer distinct benefits over existing on-site drug checking methods and harm reduction services.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.