Honors Projects
Abstract
Microcrystalline tests are chemical tests that involve the mixing of a substance with a specific reagent resulting in the formation of a crystal structure. Currently, microcrystalline tests are used as presumptive tests in forensic drug chemistry laboratories to provide the suspected identity of unknown substances. There is, however, a limited amount of research on this use of microcrystalline structures. Additionally, this existing research is outdated and does not include some of the newer commonly encountered controlled substances including fentanyl, clonazepam, and diazepam. This literature-based review attempts to identify reagents that could be used in microcrystalline tests for the identification of these newer controlled substances (fentanyl, clonazepam, and diazepam). The results showed that reagents including aqueous gold chloride, gold bromide, and platinum bromide can be used for microcrystalline tests of fentanyl. Reagents including platinum chloride, potassium chromate, and lead iodide can be used for microcrystalline tests of clonazepam, and reagents including platinum chloride and ammonium thiocyanate can be used for microcrystalline tests of diazepam.
Department
Chemistry
Major
Forensic Science
First Advisor
Dr. Travis Worst
First Advisor Department
Chemistry
Second Advisor
Dr. Crystal Oechsle
Second Advisor Department
Biological Sciences
Third Advisor
Mr. Daniel Davison
Third Advisor Department
Chemistry
Publication Date
12-10-2025
Repository Citation
French, Karis, "Development of Microcrystalline Tests for Fentanyl, Clonazepam, and Diazepam Identification" (2025). Honors Projects. 1078.
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/honorsprojects/1078