Surface ionization detection of amphetamine-type illicit drugs

We report on developments towards a novel miniaturized gas sensor system for the detection of amphetamine-type illicit drugs, operating on the principle of surface ionization. The detector is shown to feature good sensitivity to the target compounds as well as high selectivity against potential interfering species. The latter include in particular a set of possible solvent liquids for the salt forms of the target substances. In a set of experiments using flash desorption on both solid and liquid-dissolved analytes, with subsequent gas phase detection, the potential of the detection method for field applications is demonstrated.