"This study presents an independent, laboratory-based assessment of the potential of the first commercially available NTS for drug checking applications. The NTS displayed limited lot-to-lot variability, with an experimental limit of detection for isotonitazene of 2000 or 3000 ng/mL. Twenty-four of the 33 evaluated nitazene analogues cross-reacted with the NTS at concentrations at or below 9000 ng/mL. The test strips consistently detected the presence of a nitazene analogue in 6 authentic drug samples. Based on our cross-reactivity data, most of the currently circulating nitazene analogues, except for ‘desnitazenes’, are likely detectable with the BTNX NTS, while analogues with a lengthened linker between the aromatic groups may not be detectable. Altogether, taking into account limitations that hold true for test strip-based testing in general, and taking into account the cross-reactivity data presented here, the findings from this study indicate that the BTNX nitazene immunoassay test strips show potential to recognize the presence of nitazene analogues in drug preparations in real-life settings."
De Vrieze, L.M., Stove, C.P. & Vandeputte, M.M. Nitazene test strips: a laboratory evaluation. Harm Reduct J 21, 159 (2024). doi.org/10.1186/s12954-024-01078-8
