Rapid and sensitive determination of etomidate based on colorimetric assays with a chromium(iii) complex

Leo K. B. Tam; Weijun Ma; Boyang Li; Waygen Thor; Ho-Fai Chau; Ka-Leung Wong

doi:10.1039/d5dt00849b

Rapid and sensitive determination of etomidate based on colorimetric assays with a chromium(iii) complex

Leo K. B. Tam^* (Co-first Author), Weijun Ma (Co-first Author), Boyang Li (Co-first Author), Waygen Thor, Ho-Fai Chau^*, Ka-Leung Wong^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

Abstract

Vaping etomidate is currently a red-hot social issue where the drug abuse problem has led to health concerns and even reported deaths for adolescents. Therefore, a fast, sensitive, and cost-effective detection tool for etomidate is urgently needed to support law enforcement. A chromium(iii) complex-based sensor, EtoChrom, is presented in this work as an example of a detection method for etomidate based on a colorimetric assay. This low-priced but novel sensor exhibits an eye-catching colour change from purple to yellow and a bathochromic shift in the absorption band upon etomidate binding. Thus, the result can be seen directly by the naked eye. EtoChrom demonstrated a high precision of up to 2 mg mL⁻¹ etomidate with a low detection limit of 0.030 mg mL⁻¹, with the interference from the vape juice and saliva matrices negligible throughout the test. In real etomidate-containing vape juice analysis, EtoChrom can provide accurate results within 1 min, revealing its high potential to serve as an easy-to-handle and cost-effective etomidate detector for rapid on-site screening.

© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2025

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	10883-10889
Number of pages	7
Journal	Dalton Transactions
Volume	54
Issue number	28
Online published	17 Jun 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1039/d5dt00849b
Publication status	Published - 28 Jul 2025
Externally published	Yes

Funding

All experiments were performed in compliance with the relevant laws and institutional guidelines of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, according to which human serum albumin (HSA) was purchased and the samples were supplied by Sigma-Aldrich. Financial assistance from the HK PolyU Research Grant No. P0054517 and 4-68AS is gratefully acknowledged (K.-L. W). We thank the Hong Kong Hospital Authority, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Narcotics Bureau, Hong Kong Police Force, and the Hong Kong Government Laboratory for their assistance. Inspiring discussions with Dr Chen Xie and Dr Yan-Ho Fung are also highly appreciated.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

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This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC 3.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

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title = "Rapid and sensitive determination of etomidate based on colorimetric assays with a chromium(iii) complex",

abstract = "Vaping etomidate is currently a red-hot social issue where the drug abuse problem has led to health concerns and even reported deaths for adolescents. Therefore, a fast, sensitive, and cost-effective detection tool for etomidate is urgently needed to support law enforcement. A chromium(iii) complex-based sensor, EtoChrom, is presented in this work as an example of a detection method for etomidate based on a colorimetric assay. This low-priced but novel sensor exhibits an eye-catching colour change from purple to yellow and a bathochromic shift in the absorption band upon etomidate binding. Thus, the result can be seen directly by the naked eye. EtoChrom demonstrated a high precision of up to 2 mg mL−1 etomidate with a low detection limit of 0.030 mg mL−1, with the interference from the vape juice and saliva matrices negligible throughout the test. In real etomidate-containing vape juice analysis, EtoChrom can provide accurate results within 1 min, revealing its high potential to serve as an easy-to-handle and cost-effective etomidate detector for rapid on-site screening. {\textcopyright} The Royal Society of Chemistry 2025",

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Rapid and sensitive determination of etomidate based on colorimetric assays with a chromium(iii) complex. / Tam, Leo K. B. (Co-first Author); Ma, Weijun (Co-first Author); Li, Boyang (Co-first Author) et al.
In: Dalton Transactions, Vol. 54, No. 28, 28.07.2025, p. 10883-10889.

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

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AU - Chau, Ho-Fai

AU - Wong, Ka-Leung

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Rapid and sensitive determination of etomidate based on colorimetric assays with a chromium(iii) complex

Abstract

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