ArticleDrug and alcohol review2025
Point-Of-Care Drug-Checking: Assessing the Rhode Island Drug Supply Using FTIR Spectroscopy to Detect Fentanyl, Xylazine and Other Substances.
Article in Drug and alcohol review, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Healthcare provider approaches to managing the health harms of xylazine: A qualitative study.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- Crack/cocaine use to manage xylazine exposure in fentanyl in Connecticut: findings from a convergent mixed methods study.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Self-Reported History of Precipitated Withdrawal: A Cross-Sectional Study of People Who Use Unregulated Opioids.Journal of addiction medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionThe illicit drug supply constantly fluctuates, with new adulterants and unexpected mixtures creating uncertainty. Point-of-care drug-checking services are vital in reducing overdose risk and other harms by providing real-time analysis, harm reduction education and links to care. This study aimed to characterise the local drug supply using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, complemented by Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry (LC-QToF-MS) for additional context, from drug residues collected through a drug-checking program within a Rhode Island harm reduction site.
methodsFrom January to May 2023, 100 samples were analysed using FTIR and sent for additional qualitative and semi-quantitative testing via LC-QToF-MS. Substances detected by both methods were summarised by prevalence, mixture composition and alignment with self-reported drug categories.
resultsFentanyl (53%) and cocaine (48%) were the most prevalent substances detected by FTIR, followed by xylazine (10%) and methamphetamine (8%). Cross-category analysis revealed cocaine in 36% of opioid-reported samples and fentanyl in 3% of self-reported cocaine samples, underscoring the mixed nature of the supply. We found the local fentanyl supply (n = 57) showed high variability, with 15 additional components detected by FTIR, including xylazine (19.3%). DISCUSSION AND
conclusionsThese findings provide a snapshot of the unpredictable and highly mixed nature of the Rhode Island drug supply defined by stimulant-opioid overlaps, xylazine adulteration and the presence of cocaine across drug categories. By pairing real-time FTIR with laboratory-based analysis, we provided actionable information back to service users while also uncovering deeper patterns in local drug trends.
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Registered trials
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