LOW RISK ILLICIT DRUG LEVEL MONITORING

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of the proposed research is to develop two prototype drug analyzers interfaced with automated analysis readers for low risk monitoring of illicit drug levels by Surface Enhanced Raman Immuno Assay (SERIA). The first prototype will be placed in a clinical setting. This study will include urine and saliva samples collected from clients of a juvenile assessment and treatment center. We will cross validate this work with a comparison to conventional immunoassay measurements through standard urinalysis methodology. This will provide us with a credible validation and a beginning for FDA approval.The second prototype drug analyzer will be developed as a multiformat instrument and optimized to evaluate the engineering and automated assay methodology. This instrument will be designed to accommodate a microwell plate format for screening drug samples, a microsample vial format for individual drug assays, and a simple one-step test-strip format.In the course of this project we will further the development of our assay technique by improving upon the design of our drug-analog reporters and optimizing our methodology for the detection of methamphetamine, amphetamine, and morphine by extending our study to include THC and cocaine, and developing corresponding SERIA methods for these drugs.