Fentanyl - A Deadly Counterfeit Problem

Counterfeit drugs threaten public health and present unique challenges to both the criminal justice system and the field of forensic science. These drugs may cause acute or chronic sickness or death. Their history is completely uncontrolled. They may have no active ingredient, the wrong active ingredient, or the correct active ingredient at the wrong dosage. The infiltration of fentanyl into the illicit drug supply chain in the United States has complicated the counterfeit-drug problem even further due to the potency of fentanyl and its analogs and the ability to synthesize these substances in the laboratory. As a result, illegal drug smugglers and suppliers can manufacture fentanyl at relatively modest cost and disperse very small amounts of these synthetic narcotics into samples to mimic the intended therapeutic effect of drugs such as cocaine or heroin. These fentanyl-laced drug samples are dangerous and hard to detect, especially in the field using portable instruments. This limitation is especially important since a primary reason to perform analysis at the sample site to detect counterfeit drugs is so that they can quickly be removed from the supply chain. This presentation will review the methods of analysis used to detect fentanyl in the field at the sample site using portable systems and detail both the analytical and deployment challenges of each method. In addition, challenges faced since fentanyl and its analogs are DEA-scheduled narcotics will be discussed. The portable methods covered will include color tests, immunoassay tests, vibrational spectroscopy methods, ion mobility spectrometry, mass spectrometry, and portable gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.