Characterization of Street Drugs Using Handheld Fourier Transform Raman Spectroscopy

Handheld Raman spectroscopy offers a rapid and mobile technique for determining drugs nondestructively. The technique offers further advantage for analyzing drug products (DPs) thanks to its ability to measure samples through packaging, thus preserving evidence integrity and continuity. This research evaluated the use of handheld Fourier transform (FT)-Raman spectroscopy for characterization of street DPs (n = 254) of diverse formulations. Raman spectra of DPs inside their packaging were collected and matched against the instrumental in-built library, and then exported to Matlab 2020a for offline spectral interpretation. Reference analysis was confirmed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The main drugs present were 1,3-trifluoro- methylphenylpiperazine, cocaine, ketamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamfetamine, mephedrone, and 1-benzylpiprerazine. The main impurities present in DPs were benzocaine, caffeine, and lactose. The impurities affected the Raman signature (enhanced or inhibited) of DPs, enabling profiling of DPs and visualizing patterns among different products. These latter patterns were featured in the similarities highlighted by the correlation coefficient values between different DPs, and by adjacent clusters of different DPs envisaged in the principal component analysis scores plot.