News Chemistry

A new method could spot fentanyl variants no one has cataloged yet

Underground labs invent new fentanyls faster than forensic labs can keep up

Dozens of foil blister packs of white oval and round tablets, several bundled with yellow rubber bands.

Authorities believe these blister packs contain illicit fentanyl. Drug traffickers can skirt the law by cooking up novel varieties authorities haven't cataloged. A new reference library that doesn't rely on measurements of known molecules could help law enforcement end the game of cat and mouse.

ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images

By Rachel Berkowitz

Illicit laboratories do a criminally good job of synthesizing new forms of dangerous drugs that slip under the radar, but a new method could spot variants of the powerful opioid drug fentanyl even before they’ve been cataloged by authorities.