A Silicon Valley company recently unveiled a device able to detect wisps of illicit substances such as fentanyl and explosives quickly and without swabbing, all powered by technology developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. 

BaySpec Inc. presented the portable, 40-pound device at the annual meeting of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry along with results of test runs at a U.S.-Mexico border crossing at Nogales, Arizona, according to a release. 

“The device was used to successfully screen for and detect trace amounts of fentanyl as well as other common narcotics, including methamphetamine, MDMA (ecstasy), cocaine and ketamine,” according to PNNL. 

The technology, originally developed by PNNL chemist Robert Ewing and colleagues, samples the air in a method known as noncontact detection and collects molecules of interest to be analyzed by a miniature mass spectrometer.  

BaySpec’s device can detect fentanyl at levels as small as 6 parts per trillion. That’s equivalent to being able to detect six drops of food coloring mixed into 18 million gallons of water. 

The device is also fast, detecting fentanyl within seconds compared to the 5 to 30 minutes that current methods take, which require swabbing a surface and testing residue or using dogs trained to detect it. 

PNNL and BaySpec have worked together for about two years. PNNL’s original prototype, while much more sensitive, was also much larger and not portable. BaySpec scientists reduced the size of the system and plan to produce a commercial product to detect narcotics and explosives later this year.  

The PNNL team is continuing to work with the Department of Homeland Security to further develop the technology, which could be used to screen cargo, baggage, mail or people.