New sensing appoach for illicit drugs by supramolecular chemosensors

The opioid crisis in North America lead to the emergence of illicit drugs sold on the streets that are mixed with „buffs“, thereby possessing additional harm. Fast, low-cost and reliable drug tests applicable by the layman could therefore reduce the danger associated with polluted opioids, but are not available so far. The Hof and the Biedermann groups have both developed different chemosensors, which are able to detect drug molecules with a fast read-out. The proposed project combines both chemosensor types to an array of supramolecular chemosensors that should establish the detection and identification of drugs and their ‘buffs’ from a complex mixture. The student will therefore synthesize a new chemosensor based on former work of the hosting group and combine these with existing chemosensors from the student’s home working group. This will explore fundamentally new science in the area of complex systems chemistry, and in the long term will help establish a cheap and accessible identification of complex mixtures of drugs.

Faculty Supervisor:

Fraser Hof

Student:

Partner:

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Victoria

Program: