Forensic Narcotics Drug Analysis: State-of-the-Art Developments and Future Trends
Processes July 25, 2025 Petar M. Ristivojević, Božidar Otašević, Petar Todorović et al.
Forensic drug testing has advanced considerably over the past five years, improving detection of traditional drugs like cocaine and heroin as well as emerging new psychoactive substances such as synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, potent opioids, designer psychedelics, benzodiazepines, and dissociatives. Current technologies include colorimetric assays, ambient ionization mass spectrometry, chromatographic methods, and vibrational spectroscopy techniques like Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for non-destructive identification. New sensors with disposable electrodes and miniaturized transducers enable ultrasensitive on-site detection. Advanced chemometric algorithms extract maximum information from complex data. An emerging trend is the adoption of green analytical methods that reduce environmental impact without sacrificing performance.