2024-04-09 22:05:24
University of Waterloo researchers have introduced a rapid, life-saving blood test that detects opioids like fentanyl in less than three minutes, a critical advance in the fight against the opioid crisis.
The test method has the ability to test blood samples in half the time compared to alternative approaches.
University of Waterloo researchers have created an innovative blood-testing technique that detects powerful opioids faster than conventional methods, with the potential to save lives.
The method, the latest effort by Waterloo researchers and entrepreneurs to lead health innovation in Canada, can simultaneously analyze 96 blood samples that may contain opioids such as fentanyl in less than three minutes – twice as fast as other techniques.
Image of the microfluidic open interface system. Credit: University of Waterloo
“The difference between our blood test method and the traditional methods used in laboratories and hospitals is that we can do it faster and reach the same conclusion,” said Amir Nazdrajic, a postdoctoral fellow in Waterloo’s Department of Chemistry and co-author of a study detailing the new technique.
“Let’s say someone who has overdosed is in the emergency room, and the doctors need to quickly determine what they took to effectively treat them. The speed of our method can save lives.”
A response to a growing crisis
In 2022, more than 70,000 Americans died from overdoses of fentanyl, an opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin. About 7,000 people die each year from fentanyl in Canada, nearly a third of which occur in British Columbia, which has among the worst per capita rates in North America.
When using the method devised by Waterloo, researchers place a small amount of blood in a 96-well plate with phosphate buffer. The well plate is then placed in a machine that excites the samples, and a solid-state microextraction (SPME) probe is inserted to enhance the drugs of interest. The sample is then analyzed by a mass spectrometer connected to a microfluidic open interface, with results available in about 90 seconds.
“There is a high demand for rapid screening methods using mass spectrometry (MS) that can reduce the lead time, cost, and quantitative limitations of existing methodologies,” said Dr. Janusz Pauliszyn, corresponding author of the study and a professor in Waterloo’s. Department of Chemistry. “Our method aims not Only for fentanyl but for other drugs and certain types of diseases.”
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