Evaluation of an electrochemical sensor and comparison with spectroscopic approaches as used today in practice for harm reduction in a festival setting-A case study: Analysis of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine samples.
Drug testing and analysis September 1, 2024 Eric Deconinck, Marie A Polet, Michaël Canfyn et al.
Four portable analytical methods for drug checking at events were compared using MDMA samples. Mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy and an electrochemical sensor approach performed best. The electrochemical method directly measured the percentage of MDMA in samples, while MIR could screen for multiple substances and identify unexpected active components, an advantage given the rise of new psychoactive substances. Near-infrared and Raman spectroscopy were the other two methods tested. The study demonstrates that practical, easy-to-use approaches exist for harm reduction at events, though each method has trade-offs between specificity and breadth of detection.