New international data base aims to help forensic chemists quickly identify drug analogs

Forensic chemists can use a new international data hub to share information on new variants of fentanyl and the chemical signatures and variants of other drug analogs with scientists from around the world to help curb the opioid epidemic.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the German Federal Criminal Police Office, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) partner on the new Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) Data Hub. It can help chemists identify the chemical structures and chemical signatures of synthetic opioid variants more quickly.

“If people start overdosing and dying from a new drug analog, authorities need to identify it as quickly as possible,“ Aaron Urbas, the NIST research chemist who led the project, said. “If you want to focus your resources effectively, you need to know what you’re looking for.”

By fostering collaboration, the NPS Data Hub aims to allow forensic chemists to identify new analogs that make drugs more potent or alter the chemical structure to skirt drug laws.

“These people have very rare expertise,” NIST senior policy advisor Jayne Morrow said. “The Data Hub brings these experts together and provides a forum where they can discuss what they’re seeing in real time. There haven’t been great ways to do that before, and it’s really needed.”