Development of a Pencil Drawn Paper-based Analytical Device to Detect Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD)

Author(s)

Ribeiro, Maria Fernanda M. ^[1] ; Bento, Fatima ^[2] ; Ipolito, Antonio J. ^[3] ; de Oliveira, Marcelo F. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, USP, Ave Bandeirantes, BR-3900 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Minho, Ctr Quim, Campus Gualtar, P-4710057 Braga - Portugal

^[3] Superintend encia Policia T ecn Cient, SPTC, Rua Sao Sebastiao, BR-1339 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES; v. 65, n. 6 JUN 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

The need for agile and proper identification of drugs of abuse has encouraged the scientific community to improve and to develop new methodologies. The drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is still widely used due to its hallucinogenic effects. The use of voltammetric methods to analyze narcotics has increased in recent years, and the possibility of miniaturizing the electrochemical equipment allows these methods to be applied outside the laboratory; for example, in crime scenes. In addition to portability, the search for affordable and sustainable materials for use in electroanalytical research has grown in recent decades. In this context, employing paper substrate, graphite pencil, and silver paint to construct paper-based electrodes is a great alternative. Here, a paper-based device comprising three electrodes was drawn on 300 g/m(2)watercolor paper with 8B pencils, and its efficiency was compared to the efficiency of a commercially available screen-printed carbon electrode. Square wave voltammetry was used for LSD analysis in aqueous medium containing 0.05 mol/L LiClO4. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.38 and 1.27 mu mol/L, respectively. Both electrodes exhibited a similar voltammetric response, which was also confirmed during analysis of a seized LSD sample, with recovery of less than 10%. The seized samples were previously analyzed by GCMS technique, employing the full scan spectra against the software spectral library. The electrode selectivity was also tested against 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and methamphetamine. It was possible to differentiate these compounds from LSD, indicating that the developed paper-based device has potential application in forensic chemistry analyses. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/23825-3 - Development of voltammetric sensors for determination of cocaine and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in samples seized by the police
• Grantee: Marcelo Firmino de Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants