The growing presence on the European market of new drugs called New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) is a major threat to public health, as they are widely consumed at festive events and can lead to death by overdose. In this context, it is essential to accurately detect NSPs sold on the street or on the Internet. Among analytical techniques, high-field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is a well-recognized high-performance tool for elucidating molecular structures and quantifying them in mixtures. However, NMR is generally associated with heavy equipment requiring high maintenance and operating costs. In contrast, compact spectrometers have been emerging for over 10 years, which are affordable and portable, but have reduced performance due to their weaker magnetic field.

We have thus developed NMR techniques capable of going beyond the limits of low-field NMR (60 MHz in 1H) for better spectral resolution and enhanced sensitivity. These one- and two-dimensional NMR techniques have been combined with Infra-Red spectroscopy and a software interface capable of not only identifying but also, for the first time, elucidating NSPs thanks to an experimental and predictive database. This platform (see Figure) has already been validated blind on 6 Police seizures involving mixtures. The performance of this new platform is currently being optimized to make this approach robust in routine use.

The final year of the project (2023) will be dedicated to transferring the NSP analytical platform (methods and equipment) from the CEISAM laboratory to the SNPS, in order to implement the new interface on a routine basis at the chemical division of the Lyon forensics department.