title: Application of surface enhanced Raman scattering to the solution based detection of a popular legal high, 5,6-methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane (MDAI).
abstract: The ever increasing numbers and users of designer drugs means that analytical techniques have to evolve constantly to facilitate their identification and detection. We report that surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) offers a relatively fast and inexpensive method for the detection of MDAI at low concentrations. Careful optimisation of the silver sol, and salt concentrations was undertaken to ensure the SERS analysis was both reproducible and sensitive. The optimised system demonstrated acceptable peak variations of less than 15% RSD and resulted in a detection limit of just 8 ppm (5.4 × 10(-5) M).
authors.affiliation: Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK. roy.goodacre@manchester.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mabbott
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Alharbi
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Groves
authors.forename: Royston
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goodacre
mesh_terms: D004340:Drug Contamination; D007189:Indans / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D057230:Limit of Detection; D012996:Solutions / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D007189:Indans; D012996:Solutions; C066678:5,6-methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane