NC West Virginia News

A collaboration between West Virginia University (WVU) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) aims to improve the identification of drugs like fentanyl, addressing a significant challenge faced by crime scene investigators and toxicologists. Glen Jackson, Ming Hsieh Distinguished Professor at WVU, is leading the project with funding from the National Institute of Justice.

Jackson's work focuses on developing the Expert Algorithm for Substance Identification (EASI), which allows laboratories to share data about drug chemical profiles despite using different instruments. This innovation is particularly crucial for identifying fentanyl analogs, which are chemically similar but have varying potentials for addiction or overdose.

"We’ll be looking at compounds that are of special interest to the DEA and are especially challenging to differentiate," Jackson stated. He highlighted the difficulty in distinguishing between drugs such as variations of fentanyl, stimulants similar to MDMA, cannabinoid drugs including THC and CBD, and substances related to LSD.

Current algorithms struggle with these distinctions, often resulting in unreliable identifications that do not meet Federal Rules of Evidence criteria for court admissibility. EASI seeks to address this by enhancing forensic labs' ability to identify synthetic drugs accurately.

Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a 279% increase in drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl from 2016 to 2021. Additionally, a report indicated that fentanyl accounted for over 20% of drug seizures by law enforcement. Yet, forensic labs could only identify specific forms of fluorofentanyl in 57% of cases.

"That highlights the importance of detecting these different chemical markers," said Jackson. "It’s one of the most challenging and pressing issues facing seized-drug and toxicology labs."

Forensic chemists typically use mass spectrometry for drug identification. The DEA uses instruments that fragment drug molecules into measurable chunks. EASI analyzes these fragments' masses to identify substances more reliably than current methods allow.

Jackson has already demonstrated EASI's effectiveness with electron ionization mass spectrometry data. His next step involves adapting it for tandem mass spectrometry using thousands of samples from WVU and DEA labs.

"Our approach to mass spectrometry identification is simple enough that a seized drug analyst can explain it to jurors," he noted.

Jackson plans to provide a database with over 118,000 spectra representing various drug analogs like fentanyl and LSD. He will also test EASI on mixed samples or those containing cutting agents.

Looking ahead, Jackson envisions extending EASI's capabilities beyond drugs to other substances like explosives or ignitable liquids. For now, he expects the DEA will validate EASI for casework while Wiley integrates it into their KnowItAll software package.

"Wiley plans to code our algorithm into the company’s KnowItAll software," Jackson explained. "The forensics field today needs to identify more drugs more quickly... Once EASI is incorporated into a custom software package... it could save medium-sized labs hundreds of thousands of dollars a year."