Electrochemical Detection of Psychoactive Substances
Summary
Electrochemical detection harnesses the redox properties of psychoactive compounds to achieve rapid, sensitive and portable analysis. At its core, an electrode interfaces with a sample—whether biological fluid, beverage or environmental water—and electroactive drug molecules undergo oxidation or reduction under an applied potential. The resulting current or potential change is measured by techniques such as voltammetry, amperometry or potentiometry, often after surface modification with enzymes, nanomaterials or molecularly imprinted polymers to improve selectivity and sensitivity. Advances in miniaturised potentiostats, screen-printed and flexible electrodes have enabled point-of-care and in situ monitoring of sedatives, stimulants and narcotics. Challenges include interference from complex matrices, electrode fouling by proteins or organic matter and the need for low limits of detection to trace illicit substances. Addressing these has led to antifouling coatings, wireless data transmission and integration with Internet-of-Things platforms. Such developments have broad applications in clinical toxicology, forensic analysis, workplace testing and environmental surveillance, underscoring the global importance of electrochemical approaches to real-time drug monitoring.
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Electrochemical Detection of Psychoactive Substances publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrochemical detection of psychoactive substances across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Voltammetry: Electrochemical technique measuring current as a function of applied potential to identify and quantify redox-active species.
Potentiometry: Measurement of the electrical potential of a sensor relative to a reference electrode, often used for ion-selective detection.
Screen-printed electrode: Disposable electrode produced by printing conductive inks onto substrates, enabling low-cost mass production of sensors.
Biosensor: Analytical device that combines a biological recognition element (enzyme, antibody or aptamer) with a transducer to detect target analytes.
Limit of detection (LoD): Smallest concentration of an analyte that produces a signal distinguishable from background noise.
References
- Portable Miniaturized IoT-Enabled Point-of-Care Device for Electrochemical Sensing of Zopiclone in Cocktails. Biosensors (2024).
- Potentiometric Sensors for the Selective Determination of Benzodiazepine Drug Residues in Real Wastewater Effluents. Chemosensors (2022).
- Alprazolam Detection Using an Electrochemical Nanobiosensor Based on AuNUs/Fe-Ni@rGO Nanocomposite. Biosensors (2022).
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