(639c) Rapid Detection of Fentanyl Levels Via Electrochemical Approach for Point-of-Care Diagnostics

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, has been increasingly recognized as a major cause in overdose deaths in US. Current technologies rely on bulkier instruments for detecting fentanyl concentration in blood. However, they required time consuming preparation of mixture prior to analysis and does not detect fentanyl concentration accurately in other human bodily fluids. In this study, arginine was immobilized on conducting polymer (polyaniline) surface to accurately capture fentanyl. The unexplored interaction between arginine and fentanyl was shown to have high structural selectivity towards fentanyl. This sensing strategy is extremely useful in detecting small molecules that are independent of redox reaction. This work aims to resolve the challenge of monitoring small molecule drugs concentration accurately and rapidly for point-of-care (POC) diagnosis.