Rapid, multianalyte detection of opioid metabolites in wastewater

Mass scale local monitoring of opioid use without directly testing an individual is highly desirable. This allows agencies to detect a problem while avoiding the stigma associated with direct testing.  Nowadays, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is getting a lot of attention for community tracing of drug metabolites as well monitoring the spread of infectious diseases. However, the presence of these metabolites in wastewater is very low in the range of pg/ml to ng/ml because of their excessive dilution in the wastewater samples which requires a highly sensitive detection technique. The current method to detect these drugs is high-pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) which is a highly selective and specific technique but suffers from lower sensitivity in wastewater, requires advanced equipment, sample analyses, and trained personnel. Herein we present a graphene based multiplexed platform utilizing high-specificity aptamers (ApG-FET) for rapid, sensitive, and simultaneous detection of drug metabolites in wastewater to accurately assess opioid misuse and abuse in municipal communities. I will discuss the fabrication process of the ApG-FET platform along with the challenges that arose during its creation and the solutions to these issues. Results of detection of opioid metabolites in wastewater will be presented. These results will highlight the selectivity and specificity of the platform as well as the limit of detection