Electrochemical Analysis of Buprenorphine and Naltrexone as Potential Tools to Tackle the Opioid Epidemic

Sara L. Kuberski*, Colby E. Ott and Luis E. Arroyo, Department of Forensic and Investigative Science, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Field (Broad Category): Forensics (Physical Sciences & Engineering) 

Student’s Major: Forensic and Investigative Science; Chemistry 

Deaths associated with drug overdose continue to contribute to mortality in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services survey, in 2018, there were 67,367 drug overdose deaths, which represents 4.1% less compared to 2017 (70,237). However, the rate of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids increased by 10% from 9.0 in 2017 to 9.9 in 2018. West Virginia ranked number one as the state with the highest drug overdose death rates in the country with 51.1 per 100,000 population. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources promotes the Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Program. MAT administers the drugs buprenorphine and naltrexone to patients dealing with opioid addiction. Ensuring patient compliance with the MAT program is a crucial step to increase the chance of treatment success. Therefore, the goal of this work was to develop an electrochemical sensor based on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) to quickly and effectively detect these compounds for compliance purposes. Both drugs demonstrated electroactivity. Buprenorphine showed an oxidation peak at +0.29 V, while naltrexone presented two oxidation peaks at +0.40 V and +0.77 V. Square-wave voltammetry (SWV) was optimized for detecting the target analytes and calibration curves were constructed for each drug. Buprenorphine was analyzed over the linear range of 1.86 ppm to 13.9 ppm (R2=0.992), resulting in a calculated limit of detection (LOD) of 0.72 ppm. Naltrexone was analyzed between 0.5 ppm and 10 ppm (R2=0.998), resulting in an LOD of 0.24 ppm. 

Funding: SURE enrichment funding award for $500 

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU 497-level course