SBIR Phase I: Low-cost sensors for rapid narcotic intoxication screening in the field

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the development a low-cost, rapid sensor for drugs of abuse in saliva. Currently, there is no roadside test to establish intoxication with drugs other than alcohol. With the ongoing societal shift towards legalization and decriminalization of certain drugs, it is imperative to enable law enforcement officers to verify intoxication at the roadside to keep our roads safe. Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been recognized as an ideal technology to solve this problem as it enables screening for a multitude of drugs at trace (nanogram) levels using a single sensor and reader. The immediate application and target market of the proposed innovation is the detection of illicit drug usage, such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine and other narcotics, since this has been identified as the greatest market need. However, this technological platform has great potential to serve as a low-cost platform for detecting trace chemical and biological targets within complex samples, with the ability to be rapidly adapted to address emerging needs. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop functionalized sensors for detection of substances of abuse in saliva. These sensors will be generated using low-cost, high-throughput additive manufacturing processes (roll-to-roll inkjet printing), and will be paired with a portable AA battery-powered spectrometer, enabling rapid, low-cost screening at the point of sample collection. Key aspects of the proposed approach include: 1) Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to provide a high sensitivity and specific detection modality; 2) inkjet printing of the sensor, enabling simple and low-cost mass production; 3) solid phase extraction and lateral flow immunoassay concepts enable on-sensor cleanup prior to detection; and 4) functionalized plasmonic nanostructures to provide Raman enhancement, and to specifically capture target drug molecules of interest.