Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an analgesic (pain relief) and anesthetic. However, synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, are prone to abuse and are the primary drivers of overdose related deaths in the United States. As little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal. Furthermore, structural variants of fentanyl, often mixed with other drugs or counterfeit pills are illegally distributed without the user’s knowledge. There is great need for assay methods that could simultaneously detect fentanyl variants and provide information about their cross-reactivity and the metabolites. Law enforcement and emergency responders who encounter overdose victims or illegal drugs in the field would benefit from reliable, rapid, inexpensive, and easily interpreted assays to better treat patients, protect themselves from exposure, and trace the origins of the hazardous compounds.

Using immunogenic virus-like particles (VLPs) carrying various fentanyl analogs, CDC researchers have developed new monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that are specifically designed to detect multiple fentanyl analogs simultaneously with high affinity and at lower limits of detection when compared to current immunoassay methods. These mAbs have the potential to be developed into a rapid, sensitive, point of care lateral flow assay to improve detection of fentanyl analogs compared to existing commercial products for diagnostic or harm reduction purposes. These antibodies could also be used in development of therapeutic agents to help prevent deaths from fentanyl related overdose.