Hofstra professor and student use chemistry to tackle the opioid epidemic

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A chemistry professor at Hofstra University and his pupil are conducting research in forensic science to alleviate the burden of the nation-wide opioid epidemic.

Ling Huang, of Salisbury, and rising senior Nicole Homburger, of Bellmore, are using a screening process called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy as a means of quantifying and identifying the components of designer opioids.

In recent years, there has been an uptick in the number of drugs that are comprised of more than one substance, including heroin, fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, caffeine and glucose. Designer opioids, as they are called, allow drug dealers to distribute more for a cheaper price, Huang said.

Currently, when police officers find an unidentifiable substance, like a white powder, they can partially identify it using a presumptive test or send it to a lab and await the results, Huang added.

The experiments that Huang and Homburger are conducting allow them to identify, in milligrams, how much of each drug is present in a given sample. Their goal is to help law enforcement in their efforts to prevent the distribution of lethal designer drugs.

“The longer I’ve been doing this, the more invested I am in what’s happening on a national level,” said Homburger, who noted that she knew little of the specifics of the opioid epidemic before her professor invited her to help him with his research.

Huang has been conducting research on drug identification since 2011, beginning with an experiment to help police identify synthetic marijuana. Three years ago, when he noticed that designer opioids were growing as a threat on Long Island, he used what he learned from his previous experiment to tackle the issue. Huang is looking to publish his and Homburger’s work in a science journal called Forensic Chemistry.

Among his nine years at the university, Huang has worked with 41 students. He was recognized for his dedication and achievements on May 18 when he earned Hofstra University’s 2018 Mentor of the Year award. “Ling has always been there whenever I need help,” Homburger said, adding that he has inspired her to become more involved in the field of forensic science. “He’s always pushing us to do new things.”