Current Trends in Seized Drug Analysis Symposium

This live online symposium brings together leading experts from academia, government, and industry to explore drugs today and drugs tomorrow—global trends, SWGDRUG guidance, clandestine operations, and how AI/ML and novel techniques are reshaping seized drug analysis. It’s an interactive, community‑driven week designed for practitioners: ask questions, share challenges, and take home methods you can apply immediately.

Bruker at the Symposium

We’re proud to contribute two sessions that showcase practical, high‑impact workflows for seized drug analysis:

• Seminar (Monday, Jan 26, 11:15 am ET): Full‑Spectrum of Seized Drug Analysis Workflows with Christopher Elicone (Bruker Daltonics). Discover when to choose chromatography‑free DART‑MS for rapid targeted screening and when TIMS‑HRMS (timsTOF) delivers unmatched depth for non‑targeted investigations.
• Workshop (Tuesday, Jan 27, 1:00 pm ET): Rapid Seized Drug Analysis in Mobile and Laboratory Environments led by Elizabeth L. Robinson and Edward Sisco (NIST). See how validated DART‑TOF‑MS and LC‑MS/MS workflows translate to a mobile lab for real‑time insights, and how point‑of‑need data fuels innovation in ion mobility, reference datasets, and data fusion.

We’re excited to invite you to our Bruker seminar on Monday at 11:15 am ET to see how rapid screening and deep characterization come together to elevate seized drug analysis.

Speaker: Christopher Elicone, Director Product Management, Bruker Daltonics (Billerica, USA)

What you’ll learn:
Modern seized drug analysis demands the right tool for the right challenge. This session covers two complementary approaches:

• Chromatography‑free DART‑MS for rapid, targeted identification and quantitation—boosting throughput, reducing cost, and simplifying operations when speed matters.
• TIMS‑HRMS (timsTOF) for deep, non‑targeted investigations—separating isomers via collisional cross section (CCS), and enabling sensitive, confident identification and charaterization in complex matrices.

You’ll see how advanced statistics applied to high‑quality HRMS data support comprehensive identification and comparative cohort analysis that can reveal potential sources and distribution patterns. Expect practical insights to help laboratories select, deploy, and scale the most effective workflow—whether rapid screening or in‑depth characterization.

Key objectives:

• Understand Bruker’s targeted and non‑targeted mass spectrometry workflows for seized drugs.
• Appreciate the ease, efficiency, and flexibility of chromatography‑free DART‑MS.
• Explore the analytical advantages of TIMS‑HRMS (timsTOF) for non‑targeted analysis.

Don’t miss the chance to join our sponsored workshop with NIST, an engaging, hands‑on deep dive into rapid seized drug analysis in both mobile and laboratory settings.

Speakers: Elizabeth L. Robinson & Edward Sisco, Research Chemists, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) (Gaithersburg, MD) 

What you’ll learn:
The drug landscape is evolving: potent compounds and complex products demand field‑deployable and lab‑grade techniques that deliver comprehensive chemical information. NIST’s Rapid Drug Analysis and Research (RaDAR) program is building a mobile laboratory to provide real‑time, on‑site insights into the illicit supply, equipped with multiple MS systems including high‑resolution TOF and triple quadrupole (MS/MS). 

This workshop walks through adapting a validated lab workflow (DART‑TOF‑MS for qualitative screening; LC‑MS/MS for quantitative confirmation) to the mobile environment, covering optimization with a TOFWERK Vocus instrument and Bruker DART‑SVP ion source, fit‑for‑purpose validation (mass accuracy, specificity, reproducibility, LoD, robustness), and practical enhancements (is‑CID tuning, automated rails, DART gas selection). For targeted quantitation, the team presents the Bruker EVOQ DART‑TQ⁺ method benchmarked against established LC‑MS/MS workflows.

You’ll also see how point‑of‑need data drives broader innovation—ion mobility integration for CCS‑based identifications, rapid LC‑QTOF reference datasets, FTIR–MS data fusion, and automated data mining for early warning and monitoring, with links to NIST resources and tools. 

Key objectives:

• Discover resources that support mass spectral analysis of drug product and paraphernalia samples.
• See the utility of deploying lab‑grade MS at the point‑of‑need for near‑real‑time understanding of the illicit supply.
• Learn practical considerations when translating validated lab workflows to mobile environments.