A review of emerging substance use and their analytical detection techniques

• Author Details:   
• Aradhna .
• Arpan Kumar Pan ^*

Around the globe, the abuse of emerging drugs under various substance classes has emerged as a serious health challenge. These include novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and designer drugs that comprise constantly advancing chemical structures, and because of that, it is even more difficult to identify and detect them. Thus, they usually easily escape from legal consequences. Public health is at stake because of the inconsistency in the timely and precise identification of these substances. This review aims to assess the emerging substances of abuse according to their substance classes, particularly emphasizing their pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and chemical properties. The article reviews synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinone, NPS, designer drugs, and anabolic steroids, as well as the principle and working mechanism of the advanced analytical tool for detecting them. Google Scholar and PubMed were utilized to perform a broad, extensive literature review, considering studies published from 2000 to 2024. Synthetic cannabinoids mainly target cannabinoid receptors of the endocannabinoid system. Synthetic cathinones inhibit neurotransmitter reuptake. NPS hinders the monoamine transporters' reuptake, designer drugs antagonize N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, and anabolic steroids bind to androgen receptors in cells. Even low concentrations of drugs in the sample can be detected by GC-MS, LC-MS/MS, LC-QTOF MS, and SERS. At the same time, nanoparticle-based NMR chemo sensing, IR, IRMS, and DART-MS carry out structural analysis, molecular fingerprinting, and rapid field identification. Advancements in analytical detection techniques, along with public education and holistic rehabilitation efforts, are necessary to fight and overcome the grave challenge posed by emerging substance abuse.