# Compact Liquid Chromatography for Routine Screening in Drug Treatment Centers

> **NIH NIH R44** · AXCEND, LLC · 2022 · $258,624

## Abstract

Project Summary
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has set guidelines for illicit drug
monitoring for both screening and confirmatory tests. Point-of-care (POC) screening assays usually rely upon
immunoassays that lack specificity among compounds in a given drug class. Confirmation testing usually
employs chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (MS), which is a powerful technique capable of
identifying the relevant analytes of interest in complex samples; however, this approach requires large,
expensive equipment that requires technical expertise to operate, thus precluding it from POC environments. In
this Fast-Track SBIR project, scientists at Axcend Corporation in collaboration with chromatography and drug
analysis experts in academia and advice from practicing health care professionals will pursue further
development of a compact capillary liquid chromatography (LC) platform for rapid POC screening of drugs of
abuse. In Phase I, sample preparation with a novel solid phase extraction (SPE) apparatus will be optimized and
automated, a longer pathlength UV absorption detector flow cell will be created, and capillary LC stationary
phases and mobile phases will be investigated and selected to achieve SAMHSA testing concentration cutoff
limits for relevant compounds using the compact LC system. In Phase II, novel column-column and column-
detector combinations, diode-array detection modules, and data processing approaches combining
chromatographic retention times and UV absorption ratios will be developed to enhance the analysis of these
compounds and provide timely information to support urgent patient treatment decisions. Key aspects of this
proposal that are unique to advancing the field of POC chemical analysis using capillary LC are (1) improved
sensitivity using novel simple off-line and on-line extraction and concentration devices, and a longer pathlength
UV-absorption flow cell; (2) combinations of columns, solvents, and modes of operation for maximum LC
separation, and (3) enhanced selectivity of detection using innovative tandem column–UV-detector
combinations, (4) a new compact DAD UV-absorption detector for capillary LC, and (5) unique data handling
software algorithms for peak deconvolution. These innovations are new to the area of POC analysis as well as
to the broad field of capillary LC in general. The results from this project will be a critical step towards the release
of a POC drug screening solution that provides improved patient care compared to current healthcare practices.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10599765
- **Project number:** 1R44DA056316-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** AXCEND, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** MILTON L. LEE
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $258,624
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-30 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10599765

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10599765, Compact Liquid Chromatography for Routine Screening in Drug Treatment Centers (1R44DA056316-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10599765. Licensed CC0.

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