An enzyme-free interdigitated electrode for ketamine detection

Ketamine is an anesthetic, which when used wrongly would affect judgment and behavior, increasing risks to individual such as unwanted or risky sexual behavior. This study reports the development of an admittance- and capacitance-spectroscopy-based sensor to detect ketamine in solution, such as whiskey, a popular alcoholic drink. The result confirms the proposed method is capable of detecting the presence of ketamine in whiskey, in concentration as low as 6.25 ng/mu L, by using admittance and capacitance measured at 6.75 MHz, as well as quantifying the measured admittance (sensitivity: 300 mu omega(-1)/Log (ng/mu L); limit of detection (LOD): 0.16 ng/mu L) or capacitance data (sensitivity: 2 nF/Log (ng/mu L); LOD: 0.73 ng/mu L) at 18 kHz and 7.69 MHz, respectively.

Automated summary

This study reports the development of a sensor for detecting the presence of ketamine in whiskey, using admittance and capacitance spectrometry. The sensor is capable of detecting ketamine in concentrations as low as 6.25 ng/μL, and quantifying the measured admittance or capacitance data. The sensitivity and limit of detection for admittance were 300 μΩ(-1)/log (ng/μL) and 0.16 ng/μL, respectively, while for capacitance they were 2 nF/log (ng/μL) and 0.73 ng/μL, at frequencies of 18 kHz and 7.69 MHz.