Researchers on the College of Waterloo have launched a quick, lifesaving blood check that detects opioids like fentanyl in lower than three minutes, a vital development in combating the opioid disaster.
The testing methodology has the potential to look at blood samples in half the time in comparison with different approaches.
Researchers on the University of Waterloo have created an revolutionary blood testing approach that identifies potent opioids extra shortly than typical strategies, with the potential to save lots of lives.
The tactic, the most recent effort by Waterloo researchers and entrepreneurs to steer well being innovation in Canada, can concurrently analyze 96 blood samples that would include opioids reminiscent of fentanyl in below three minutes – twice as shortly as different methods.
Image of the microfluidic open interface system. Credit score: College of Waterloo
“The distinction between our blood testing methodology and conventional strategies utilized in laboratories and hospitals is that we are able to do it quicker and attain the identical conclusion,” mentioned Emir Nazdrajić, a postdoctoral fellow in Waterloo’s Division of Chemistry and co-author of a examine that particulars the brand new approach.
“Let’s say somebody who has overdosed is within the emergency room, and docs must shortly decide what they’ve taken to deal with them successfully. The velocity of our methodology could be lifesaving.”
A Response to a Rising Disaster
In 2022, over 70,000 People died of overdoses from fentanyl, an opioid that’s 50 occasions extra highly effective than heroin. About 7,000 folks die from fentanyl yearly in Canada, almost one-third of which happens in British Columbia, which is among the many worst charges per capita in North America.
When utilizing the Waterloo-designed methodology, the researchers place a small quantity of blood in a 96-well plate with a phosphate buffer. The properly plate is then put in a machine that agitates the samples, and a strong section microextraction (SPME) probe is launched to reinforce the medicine of curiosity. The pattern is then analyzed by a mass spectrometer coupled to a microfluidic open interface, with outcomes out there in about 90 seconds.
“There’s a excessive demand for fast screening strategies utilizing mass spectrometry (MS) that may lower the turnaround time, value, and limits of quantitation of current methodologies,” mentioned Dr. Janusz Pawliszyn, corresponding creator of the examine and a professor in Waterloo’s Division of Chemistry. “Our methodology targets not solely fentanyl however different medicine and sure kinds of ailments.”
Reference: “Fast Evaluation of Fentanyl and Fentanyl Analogues from Entire Blood Utilizing SPME Coupled to the Microfluidic Open Interface” by Emir Nazdrajić, Daniel A. Rickert and Janusz Pawliszyn, 29 December 2023, Analytical Chemistry.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c04354
