The prevalence of fentanyl and its analogs in the illicit drug market has significantly contributed to the ongoing opioid crisis. Responding to these threats in uncontrolled field environments is particularly challenging for first responders and law enforcement due to the uncertainty surrounding the composition of encountered substances. A previously developed ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) method enabled non-contact detection of fentanyl via its vapor surrogate, N-phenylpropanamide (NPPA); however, the technique was limited by low analyte vapor availability caused by fentanyl's low volatility, particularly in highly diluted fentanyl. To address this limitation, the present study developed a vapor pre-concentration strategy targeting NPPA.
Five acrylate-based polymers were screened for NPPA adsorption using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) under optimized conditions, with ethylene glycol methyl ether acrylate (EGMEA) outperforming the other polymers, showing the highest adsorption capacity for NPPA. The optimal coating, EGMEA, was then deposited onto a silicon nanowire (SiNW) array using initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD). Proof-of-concept performance testing of the EGMEA-coated SiNWs exhibited significantly greater NPPA vapor adsorption compared to uncoated SiNWs, as confirmed by GC-MS analysis. This validates EGMEA-SiNWs as a pre-concentration platform for NPPA.
The findings validate EGMEA-SiNWs as a novel platform for vapor surrogate pre-concentration, providing a solution for the limited availability of NPPA vapor in diluted fentanyl headspace. EGMEA-SiNWs can be integrated into vapor-phase detection instruments to improve the detection of diluted fentanyl samples. Future work will focus on incorporating EGMEA-SiNWs into portable IMS for non-contact fentanyl identification, with potential expansion of the application across other dangerous drug classes.
(Publisher abstract provided.)
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