V. Accelerating Technology Research, Development, and Application

China has rigorously applied Resolution 58/9 of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs – Promoting the Role of Drug Analysis Laboratories Worldwide and Reaffirming the Importance of the Quality of the Analysis and Results of Such Laboratories. It has constantly improved and applied its technological capabilities in drug analysis, and produced a large number of innovations in testing, identification, monitoring, early warning, and hazard assessment, which provide robust technical support for controlling fentanyl-related substances.

– Building a nationwide network of narcotics laboratories. Since its establishment in 2008, the China National Narcotics Laboratory has continuously improved its software and hardware facilities, and achieved world-class standards in screening for and analyzing new psychoactive substances, monitoring drug abuse based on wastewater and hair samples, assessing the addictive properties and other hazards associated with new drugs, and preparing reference standard materials. To achieve full control of fentanyl-related substances, China began the construction of five regional branches of its national narcotics laboratory in Beijing, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Sichuan and Shaanxi in 2019, and these were completed and started operations to the highest quality and the most demanding standards in June 2021. In addition, 16 provincial-level and 92 city-level narcotics laboratories have been built across the country. Such laboratories at all levels cover a total area of 71,000 square meters and employ more than 650 specialized technical personnel. With the China National Narcotics Laboratory playing an overarching role (1), 5 regional branches as pillars (5), and numerous provincial- and city-level laboratories as key nodes (N), a "1+5+N" narcotics laboratory network has taken shape, providing comprehensive technical support for the rapid detection, accurate identification, full-scale monitoring, and science-based control of fentanyl-related substances.

– Adopting innovative measures for proactive detection and early warning. To address challenges posed by the continual and rapid emergence and evolution of fentanyl-related and other new psychoactive substances, the China National Narcotics Laboratory has established a screening system for unknown substances by employing chromatography, mass spectrometry, optical spectroscopy, and NMR spectroscopy techniques to analyze suspect samples gathered by police, customs, and postal agencies. China is the first country in the world to use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy¹ to detect these substances. NMR is necessary for determining the chemical structures of fentanyl and other new psychoactive substances during their research and development. Therefore, China has placed more than 1,000 NMR spectrometers nationwide under close examination and regularly collected their spectrograms for comparison with the reference database. The results are used to screen for suspect spectrograms linked to fentanyl-related substances and their precursors, providing leads for investigating illegal production and trafficking. Since 2012, over 10,000 suspect samples and over two million NMR spectrograms have been analyzed, and 21 fentanyl-related substances and over 350 other new psychoactive substances have been identified.

– Carrying out full-scale monitoring of drug abuse. By studying the distribution of major metabolites of fentanyl-related substances and other drugs in the human body, the China National Narcotics Laboratory has determined the drug detection timeframes for different types of biological specimen, including blood, urine, saliva, hair, and nails, and adopted a high-throughput laboratory test method, to efficiently identify possible drug abusers. On the basis of high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, a wastewater testing method has been developed for detecting traces of 6 fentanyl-related substances and 65 other drugs, as well as their metabolites, achieving a detection limit of one part per trillion, or one nanogram per liter. Data from wastewater analysis has been used to build a drug consumption assessment model. Based on a drug testing technology system, a domestic wastewater monitoring network covering nearly 5,000 wastewater treatment plants in 365 cities and a biomonitoring network covering high-risk groups have been established. Since 2020, over 60,000 domestic wastewater samples and over 150,000 hair samples have been tested and analyzed through these networks.

– Strengthening the capacity for examining and identifying fentanyl-related substances. The China National Narcotics Laboratory has formulated technical norms for drug testing and identification and established a system of industry standards for public security, covering all known fentanyl-related substances and their precursors. The institute has developed reference standard materials and created a reference spectrogram database for identifying fentanyl-related and other new psychoactive substances, providing narcotics laboratories at all levels with access to the materials and database for research. This has improved China's capacity for qualitative and quantitative detection of fentanyl-related substances, and helped provide evidence support for the investigation and prosecution of relevant cases.

– Conducting experimental assessment of substance dependence. The China National Narcotics Laboratory has developed effective measures for assessing the addictive properties and other hazards of fentanyl-related substances, based on experimental animal models and in vivo and in vitro experimental methods. It has assessed the risk of addiction to 25 fentanyl-related substances through various tests, including self-administration, conditioned place preference, behavioral sensitization, and drug discrimination. In addition, the laboratory has investigated their acute toxicity by conducting in vitro neurotoxicity studies and simulating different human routes of drug administration. By comparing the results against the addictive properties and other hazards of heroin as a positive control, it has established a credible and globally recognized database on the risk of fentanyl-related abuse. Based on this database, the laboratory has published a conversion table for calculating dependence on 25 fentanyl-related substances, which provides a scientific reference for initiating and prosecuting fentanyl-related cases and for convicting and sentencing the guilty.

¹ As a technology for determining the structure of molecules, NMR is widely used in analyzing the chemical structure of organic matter.