TITLE:
Analytical Chemistry of New Psychoactive Substances: Methods, Applications and Future Prospects
AUTHORS:
Longwei Li
KEYWORDS:
New Psychoactive Substances, Testing and Detection, Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Rapid Screening, Forensic Toxicology
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Medicinal Chemistry,
Vol.16 No.2,
April
13,
2026
ABSTRACT: New psychoactive substances (NPS) are a class of artificially designed and synthesized chemical substances designed to mimic the pharmacological effects of traditional drugs. They are characterized by significant structural diversity and rapid iteration and have become a major public health challenge threatening global public health. This article systematically reviews the taxonomic characteristics, epidemiological status, and research progress of major testing and detection methodologies for NPS. Based on the classification framework established by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) this article systematically describes the chemical structure, pharmacological properties, and modes of abuse of representative NPS such as synthetic cathinones, synthetic cannabinoids, phenethylamines, synthetic opioids, and benzodiazepines; as well as the working principles, application scope, analytical efficacy, and methodological advantages and disadvantages of chromatography-mass spectrometry, spectroscopic techniques, immunoassay techniques, and novel rapid detection techniques. Addressing the key bottlenecks currently facing the NPS detection field, such as prominent structural diversity, complex metabolic pathways, and a lack of standards, this article further proposes future development directions for detection technologies, including the widespread application of high-resolution mass spectrometry, the construction of artificial intelligence-assisted compound identification systems, the promotion of microfluidic chip technology, and the integration of green analytical chemistry principles.