The project outcome of this award was a first-of-its-kind drug testing system that leverages novel chemical sensor technology and machine learning to detect illegal drugs to combat the drug epidemic. Law enforcement and homeland security agencies are typically given the responsibility to disrupt illegal drug distribution in America. The current technologies and products available to this customer segment to collect accurate drug data are insufficient in their capabilities to identify novel drugs and data mine the results for further data analytics purposes. The innovation developed in the project is one component of an ecosystem of technologies that will enable law enforcement agencies to effectively disrupt illegal drug distribution and ultimately reduce drug casualties.
     The intellectual merit of this project lies in the combination of forensic chemistry, optics, mechanical engineering, software engineering, and data science to develop a drug detection system more advanced than any available commercial product. Most commercial drug detection technologies are not capable of accurately detecting fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, which have been the most significant contributors to the skyrocketing drug overdose death rate in the U.S. The innovation developed in this project uses a novel chemical sensor that yields a signal response when it comes into contact with fentanyl and many other drugs and a miniaturized spectrometer device with a cost-effective optical design to capture the output signal, relay the output signal to a remote data analysis system, and return an easy-to-read answer for the identification of the unknown drug. The chemical research performed in a partnership with an NSF CREST university throughout a Phase IIA supplemental award validated the novel chemical sensor is capable of detecting other emerging drugs such as methamphetamine and xylazine - which are feats no other sensor can achieve. The R&D for the machine learning model development was a pioneering effort in the field of drug analysis. This project advances knowledge in the fields of chemistry, forensic science, criminology, computer science, and optics engineering.
     The broader impacts of this project will ultimately be the innovation's impact on society and the economy, as the drug epidemic has killed over 100,000 Americans each year since 2021 while leaving almost 3 million others suffering from addiction. A report from the House Joint Economic Commission estimated the drug epidemic had a 1.5 trillion dollar economic impact in 2020, stemming from the loss of potential laborers in the U.S. workforce and the cost of treatment for the many people who suffer from addiction. This innovation intends to help local public safety agencies effectively respond to the drug epidemic to reduce the impact of illegal drugs in their regions. Additionally, the Phase IIA supplemental grant funded the laboratory research training of four female students from underrepresented groups as they completed their Masters in Criminalistics degrees from California State University Los Angeles (an NSF CREST University) and the participation of a Mexican-American co-PI at the university. This NSF grant also funded the continued STEM and entrepreneurial training and education of the project PI, who is a black professional that experienced the journey of the entrepreneurial pipeline of NSF programs from grants related to this NSF SBIR Phase II project - Entrepreneurial Lead in 2 I-Corps cohorts, Postdoctoral scholar in a PFI AIR-TT, and PI in a NSF SBIR Phase I. The PI began the journey as a PhD chemistry student with skills and knowledge limited to chemistry and completed this NSF SBIR Phase II project with valuable experience in hardware engineering, software engineering, data science, and entrepreneurship.

Last Modified: 07/31/2023
Modified by: David Nash