Understanding New Psychoactive Drugs: How Technology Helps

Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) have always been a headache for forensic scientists. These drugs are hard to track because they pop up quickly, disappear just as fast, and have varying strengths. Luckily, new tools in the lab are making it easier to spot these substances. This look into recent research shows both the good and bad of different tools used to detect NPS. High-resolution mass spectrometers are now key players, but older methods like immunoassays still have their uses, especially for detecting benzodiazepines.Over 200 articles were reviewed, and 180 made it into this study. The articles were split into categories based on the lab tools they used: immunoassays, gas chromatography with mass spectrometry, low-resolution liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry, and high-resolution liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry. A handy table was made to keep track of authors, drug types, and tools used.