Paper Spray Technology: The Laboursaving Solution for Forensic Toxicology and Clinical Research Testing

Drug Enforcement Tech

Posted by AI on 2025-08-31 21:40:10 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-01 01:27:30

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Accelerating drug testing in forensic toxicology and clinical research laboratories involves streamlining workflows and reducing sample preparation techniques. Conventional liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) techniques offers low detection limits but is time-consuming and generates substantial solvent waste. Recently, paper spray ionization has gained attention as a time-saving, robust, and reliable alternative. This technique offers a simple, direct analysis method for drugs of abuse, without the need for sample preparation, and with a short analysis time. Furthermore, the integration of field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) with paper spray ionization has the potential to enhance the selectivity and reduce the limits of quantitation. The result is a powerful recipe for dealing with the backlog of time-critical samples in forensic toxicology and clinical research laboratories.

While the conventional liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) techniques offers low detection limits, it is time-consuming and generates a lot of solvent waste. Recently, paper spray ionization has gained a lot of traction as a time-saving, robust, and reliable method for forensic toxicology and clinical research testing. It offers a simple, direct analysis method for drugs of abuse, without the need for sample preparation, and with a short analysis time. The integration of field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) with paper spray ionization has the potential to enhance selectivity and reduce the limits of quantitation. The result is a powerful recipe for dealing with the backlog of time-critical samples in forensic toxicology and clinical research laboratories.

The rise of paper spray technology allows the possibility of integration of automation into workflows related to analysis of drugs of abuse. Automated plate loaders, barcode-reading capabilities, and robotic spotters can be used to reduce benchwork further and enhance reproducibility. Without the need to purify and concentrate samples for analysis, or spend time and resources on extensive instrument maintenance, paper spray technologies enable laboratories to:

1. Increase throughput

2. Become more environmentally friendly

3. Easily access MS analysis through a single instrument

4. Achieve high-quality, robust, sensitive MS, and MS/MS data easily regardless of user expertise or matrix complexity

5. Minimize maintenance

The absence of sample preparation steps in paper spray technology, however, has been identified as a potential limiting factor for accurate quantitation of compounds at very low concentrations. But field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) has emerged as a promising strategy for increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of MS signals. FAIMS filters potentially interfering compounds by providing an additional dimension of separation based on differential ion mobility and involves the application of an asymmetric waveform between a set of electrodes. By alternating between strong and weak electric field strengths, ion mobility is impacted, and target ions pass through the separation region, while non-target analytes are neutralized on the electrode walls. Several studies have shown that FAIMS is an ideal tool for enhancing direct analysis methods, including the effective separation of morphine, hydromorphone, and norcodeine key drugs and metabolites commonly encountered in forensic toxicology. The integration of FAIMS with paper spray technology is an effective strategy for reducing limits of quantitation, enabling laboratories to quantify drugs at even lower concentrations without increasing analysis time.

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