New portable device sniffs fentanyl from air faster than trained dogs

A new portable device called VaporID, developed by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and commercialized by BaySpec, can detect fentanyl vapors in ambient air at concentrations as low as six parts per trillion—significantly faster and more sensitive than current methods such as swab tests or trained detection dogs. The microwave oven–sized sensor uses non-contact sampling and a miniature mass spectrometer to analyze air instantly, identifying fentanyl, its analogs, and other narcotics like methamphetamine, MDMA, cocaine, and ketamine. A bench-top lab version demonstrated even greater sensitivity, detecting fentanyl at ten parts per quadrillion by employing an atmospheric flow tube that prolongs interaction between drug molecules and charged ions. This technology addresses the challenge of detecting substances with low vapor pressure in complex environments filled with competing vapors. By filtering out background noise and tagging target molecules with ions before mass spectrometry, VaporID achieves rapid and precise identification. Field trials at