New drug-detecting tool could help save lives
The landscape of the illegal drug trade changes constantly, particularly amid the current opioid crisis. Law-enforcement officers regularly find or confiscate pills, powders, and other substances and need to know their composition as quickly as possible to determine legal charges and sometimes to issue lifesaving warnings. Carfentanil is a case in point. This cousin to fentanyl has emerged on the nation’s streets in recent years to the alarm of law and public health officials, and with good reason. It is estimated to be 10,000 times stronger than morphine, and even a few crystals can cause a deadly overdose. If officers suspect carfentanil-laced cocaine or heroin is being sold, they rush to verify it so they can spread the word on the street. The problem, though, is that often government labs are backed up and getting test results can take a considerable amount of time. Now, researchers in the lab of George Whitesides, the...