Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new generation of high-performance DNA aptamers and highly accurate drug sensors for cocaine and other opioids. The sensors are drug specific and can detect trace amounts of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine – even when these drugs are mixed with other drugs or with cutting agents and adulterants such as caffeine, sugar, or procaine. The sensors could have far-reaching benefits for health care workers and law enforcement agencies.

Collaborators at the University of California Santa Barbara were able to incorporate the aptamer into an electrode that could measure drug concentration in situ in the blood (in a vein) of rats in real time every 10 seconds over a two-hour time period. This is the first study able to measure the pharmacology of a drug of abuse with time resolution measured in seconds.