Assessment and development of decontamination strategies for fentanyl and fentanyl analogues
- 1School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland St Lucia QLD 4072 Australia https://www.scmb.uq.edu.au +61 7 3365 3622
Abstract
Over the past decade, fentanyl and fentanyl analogues have pervaded the illicit drug market and are encountered with growing frequency by law enforcement, HazMat and other first-responder groups. Several studies have addressed the removal of fentanyl from surfaces. However, significantly fewer have focussed efforts on the chemical breakdown of this class of pharmaceuticals. This work presents a new approach to assessing fentanyl decontamination efficacy involving upscaling the reaction between fentanyl (∼15 mg) and the decontaminant, and fractionation of the reaction mixture by medium pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC). This method allowed the identification of surfactant-formulated sodium dichloroisocyanurate as a decontaminant that achieves molecular destruction of fentanyl, rather than simply conversion to the N-oxide of the compound achieved by most recommended degradation methods. The upscaled decontamination assessment approach developed and described herein represents an important reform in decontamination methodology by providing a wider lens through which to assess decontamination efficacy.
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BibTeX
@article{bazley2026assessment,
title = {{Assessment and development of decontamination strategies for fentanyl and fentanyl analogues}},
author = {Mikaela M. Bazley and Avril A. B. Robertson and Joanne T. Blanchfield},
journal = {RSC advances},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1039/d6ra06255e},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13659445},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Assessment and development of decontamination strategies for fentanyl and fentanyl analogues
AU - Mikaela M. Bazley
AU - Avril A. B. Robertson
AU - Joanne T. Blanchfield
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
JO - RSC advances
DO - 10.1039/d6ra06255e
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13659445
AB - Over the past decade, fentanyl and fentanyl analogues have pervaded the illicit drug market and are encountered with growing frequency by law enforcement, HazMat and other first-responder groups. Several studies have addressed the removal of fentanyl from surfaces. However, significantly fewer have focussed efforts on the chemical breakdown of this class of pharmaceuticals. This work presents a new approach to assessing fentanyl decontamination efficacy involving upscaling the reaction between fentanyl (∼15 mg) and the decontaminant, and fractionation of the reaction mixture by medium pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC). This method allowed the identification of surfactant-formulated sodium dichloroisocyanurate as a decontaminant that achieves molecular destruction of fentanyl, rather than simply conversion to the N-oxide of the compound achieved by most recommended degradation methods. The upscaled decontamination assessment approach developed and described herein represents an important reform in decontamination methodology by providing a wider lens through which to assess decontamination efficacy.
SN - 2046-2069
ER -