Using Handheld Raman Spectroscopy Equipped with Orbital Raster Technology for Field Detection of Cocaine and its Impurities in Fingernails

Fingernails can accumulate drugs as a result of chronic exposure. This work employed Raman spectroscopy for detecting cocaine hydrochloride (HCl) and its impurities within fingernails, utilizing orbital raster scanning (ORS) technology, where the laser beam hits multiple positions within the sample. Doing so maintained sensitivity and ensured that more of each sample’s components were represented. Fingernails were spiked with powder and solution forms of cocaine HCl and its impurities, including benzocaine HCl, levamisole HCl, lidocaine HCl, and procaine HCl. The strong Raman scattering observed for these substances indicated a high drug accumulation in the fingernails. Key cocaine HCl bands were seen at 848, 874, and 898 cm-1 (C-C stretching-tropane ring), 1004 cm-1 (symmetric stretching-aromatic ring), 1278 cm-1 (C-N stretching), 1453 cm-1 (asymmetric CH3 deformation), and 1605 and 1712 cm-1 (C=C and C=O stretching). Principal components analysis (PCA) confirmed that 90% (nails spiked with drug powders) and 77.2% (nails spiked with drug solutions) were accounted for in the variance among the data. The findings showed that Raman spectroscopy identified the presence of cocaine HCl and its impurities within fingernails.