SBIR Phase I: Low-cost sensors for rapid narcotic intoxication screening in the field

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种低成本、快速的唾液滥用药物传感器。目前，没有路边测试来确定酒精以外的药物中毒。随着社会正在向某些药物的合法化和非刑事化转变，必须使执法人员能够在路边核实醉酒情况，以确保我们的道路安全。表面增强拉曼光谱（SERS）已被认为是解决这一问题的理想技术，因为它可以使用单个传感器和读取器筛选痕量（纳克）水平的多种药物。拟议创新的直接应用和目标市场是检测非法药物的使用，例如大麻、海洛因、可卡因和其他麻醉品，因为这已被确定为最大的市场需求。然而，这种技术平台具有巨大的潜力，可以作为一种低成本的平台，用于检测复杂样品中的痕量化学和生物目标，并能够迅速适应新出现的需求。这个SBIR第一期项目建议开发用于检测唾液中滥用物质的功能化传感器。这些传感器将采用低成本、高通量的增材制造工艺（卷对卷喷墨打印）生产，并将与便携式AA电池供电的光谱仪配对，从而在样品采集点实现快速、低成本的筛选。提出的方法的关键方面包括：1)表面增强拉曼光谱（SERS）提供高灵敏度和特异性的检测方式；2)传感器喷墨打印，实现简单、低成本的批量生产；3)固相萃取和侧流免疫分析的概念使检测前的传感器清理；4)功能化等离子体纳米结构提供拉曼增强，并特异性捕获感兴趣的靶药物分子。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the development a low-cost, rapid sensor for drugs of abuse in saliva. Currently, there is no roadside test to establish intoxication with drugs other than alcohol. With the ongoing societal shift towards legalization and decriminalization of certain drugs, it is imperative to enable law enforcement officers to verify intoxication at the roadside to keep our roads safe. Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been recognized as an ideal technology to solve this problem as it enables screening for a multitude of drugs at trace (nanogram) levels using a single sensor and reader. The immediate application and target market of the proposed innovation is the detection of illicit drug usage, such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine and other narcotics, since this has been identified as the greatest market need. However, this technological platform has great potential to serve as a low-cost platform for detecting trace chemical and biological targets within complex samples, with the ability to be rapidly adapted to address emerging needs.This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop functionalized sensors for detection of substances of abuse in saliva. These sensors will be generated using low-cost, high-throughput additive manufacturing processes (roll-to-roll inkjet printing), and will be paired with a portable AA battery-powered spectrometer, enabling rapid, low-cost screening at the point of sample collection. Key aspects of the proposed approach include: 1) Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to provide a high sensitivity and specific detection modality; 2) inkjet printing of the sensor, enabling simple and low-cost mass production; 3) solid phase extraction and lateral flow immunoassay concepts enable on-sensor cleanup prior to detection; and 4) functionalized plasmonic nanostructures to provide Raman enhancement, and to specifically capture target drug molecules of interest.