MINIATURIZED AND PORTABLE DEVICES FOR ON-SITE DRUG ANALYSIS

Historically, drug analysis has been the domain of centralized laboratories with access to sophisticated instrumentation such as HPLC, GC-MS, and LC-MS. Although these "gold standard" approaches possess extremely high sensitivity and absolute accuracy, they are limited by high expense, slow turnaround times, and a need for specialized operators—characteristics that make them unsuitable for rapid, on-site analysis. However, recent breakthroughs in miniaturization, microfluidics, portable spectroscopy (such as Raman and NIR), and electrochemical sensing technologies have driven a paradigm shift towards decentralized analysis. These advances have made possible the creation of compact, intuitive "point-of-need" devices for rapid, real-time analysis in forensic, clinical, and environmental contexts. By leveraging the power of smart materials and smartphone interfaces, these devices represent a revolutionary approach to drug analysis. This review article offers a thorough examination of the history of development of these technologies, grouping the various analytical platforms now in use. We assess their particular applications, balancing the substantial benefits of portability and rapid analysis with the present limitations of these platforms in terms of detection limits and regulatory issues. Finally, we consider future directions, focusing on the possibility of autonomous, high-throughput on-site analysis to revolutionize global drug monitoring and public health safety.