Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39797018›Full record

ArticleSensors (Basel, Switzerland)2025

From Spectra to Signatures: Detecting Fentanyl in Human Nails with ATR-FTIR and Machine Learning.

Aubrey Barney, Václav Trojan, Radovan Hrib, Ashley Newland, Jan Halámek, Lenka Halámková

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Interpol review of forensic drug chemistry, 2022-2025.Forensic science international. Synergy · 2026
    Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Aubrey BarneyDepartment of Environmental Toxicology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA.ORCID 0009-0003-0112-4208
Václav TrojanCannabis Facility, International Clinical Research Centre, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, 60200 Brno, Czech Republic.
Radovan HribCannabis Facility, International Clinical Research Centre, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, 60200 Brno, Czech Republic.
Ashley NewlandDepartment of Environmental Toxicology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0303-8827
Jan HalámekDepartment of Environmental Toxicology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA.
Lenka HalámkováDepartment of Environmental Toxicology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9502-1001

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Human nails have recently become a sample of interest for toxicological purposes. Multiple studies have proven the ability to detect various analytes within the keratin matrix of the nail. The analyte of interest in this study is fentanyl, a highly dangerous and abused drug in recent decades. In this proof-of-concept study, ATR-FTIR was combined with machine learning methods, which are effective in detecting and differentiating fentanyl in samples, to explore whether nail samples are distinguishable from individuals who have used fentanyl and those who have not. PLS-DA and SVM-DA prediction models were created for this study and had an overall accuracy rate of 84.8% and 81.4%, respectively. Notably, when classification was considered at the donor level-i.e., determining whether the donor of the nail sample was using fentanyl-all donors were correctly classified. These results show that ATR-FTIR spectroscopy in combination with machine learning can effectively differentiate donors who have used fentanyl and those who have not and that human nails are a viable sample matrix for toxicology.

Indexed as

FentanylMachine LearningNailsHumansSpectroscopy, Fourier Transform InfraredFentanylATR–FTIRfentanylfingernailsmachine learningPLS-DASVM-DAtoenails

Identifiers

PMID39797018
PMCPMC11722954

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.