Alkane-Functionalized SERS Substrates for Class-Wide Control of Synthetic Cannabinoids

Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs), as a type of new psychoactive substance, are frequently designed with structural variations to evade legal restrictions. However, their abuse poses severe health risks due to a lack of understanding of their pharmacological effects. Furthermore, the rapid emergence of new psychoactive substances has outpaced the development of effective regulatory tools. To address these challenges, this study has developed a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) method for class-wide control of SCs, leveraging their common molecular backbone. A hydrophobic functionalized SERS substrate was devised, integrating surface state regulation strategies with solvent evaporation effects to enable efficient capture and enrichment of target molecules, achieving a detection limit of 0.1 μg/mL. For the complex matrix of e-cigarette liquids (e-liquids), the liquid–liquid microextraction method was optimized based on the physicochemical properties of the target molecules. This optimization resulted in a detection limit of 5 μg/mL for SCs in e-liquids, with the entire detection process completed within 2 min. This approach offers a novel and effective solution for the rapid detection of class-wide SCs, providing significant potential for applications in drug abuse prevention, public safety monitoring, and regulatory enforcement.