Research and Application of Illicit Drug Detection Technologies in Indoor Air
Contamination of indoor air with illicit drugs poses a serious threat to public health and safety. Accurate and precise methods for monitoring these drugs are crucial for combating drug production, trafficking, and abuse, as well as reducing the risk of occupational exposure in law enforcement and healthcare workers. Current on-site rapid detection techniques for drugs in indoor air primarily include ion mobility spectrometry and electronic nose technology. Chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques are often used in the laboratory. Monitored drug types include heroin, amphetamine-type stimulants, cannabis, cocaine, synthetic cannabinoids, and fentanyl analogs, with concentration ranges ranging from a few ng·m−3 to several hundred µg·m−3. Drug concentrations are influenced by factors such as the drug type, methods involved in production and abuse, intensities of human activity, and ventilation conditions. While it has been demonstrated that long-term exposure to drug-contaminated environments may cause persistent physical discomfort, the specific mechanisms underlying health risks require further investigation. This paper reviews the sources of illicit drugs in indoor air, their detection methods, and typical application scenarios. It also analyzes the shortcomings of existing studies and proposes future research directions. The aim is to provide technical references for the monitoring of drugs in indoor air environments.