Threat Detection Applications for Public Safety and Security

Any scenario. Any mission.

Our products are lab-proven and field-ready to address a wide range of public safety and security threats including chemicals, narcotics, hazardous materials, and explosives. We’ve tailored these solutions to meet the specific needs of first responders, fire departments, law enforcement, military, and other government agencies to help ensure that personnel are well equipped and can respond quickly, accurately, and safely.

Narcotics and illicit drug identification

We offer a portfolio of lab-proven and reliable narcotics and illicit drug identification products. Whether it be field-based presumptive testing or advanced identification for confirmatory analysis, with a comprehensive and flexible range of offerings, we provide products that fit your specific requirements.

 

Bring the accuracy and reliability of lab-proven technology directly to the scene with the Thermo Scientific TruNarc Handheld Narcotics Analyzer. The TruNarc analyzer easily and quickly tests for over 530 substances, including narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens and analgesics. The TruNarc analyzer’s library is regularly updated to include emerging drug threats, and identification requires no direct contact with most substances. The TruNarc analyzer delivers clear, real-time results for presumptive evidence and provides automated, tamper-proof records with scan results, including time-and-date stamps to help expedite prosecution.

Detect emerging synthetic drugs with handheld Raman technology

Recent years have shown significant growth of street drugs collectively known as synthetic cathinones— also called “bath salts” or “plant food.” They present a significant health crisis not only for their devastating physical effects but because they are difficult to identify. They are often intentionally mislabeled and include the claim “not for human consumption” to avoid prosecution. As quickly as a certain drug type or derivative is made illegal, modified substances make their way into the market to circumvent the new laws. These may only have small molecular differences, but they provide a continual challenge for the courts to stay ahead of the threat.

 

Synthetic cannabinoids, a group of psychotropic herbal products more commonly known as Spice or K2, are another challenge for narcotics enforcement personnel. Although these substances may be labeled “not for human consumption,” they are marketed to teenagers as marijuana substitutes and are available at a variety of retail outlets.

 

The chemically engineered compounds used to make Spice are often shipped as bulk powder across borders and then sprayed on plant-based material to be smoked. These compounds produce effects similar to those caused by marijuana, but they can induce more powerful—and unpredictable—results including extreme anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations, and even heart attack.

 

With illegal drug targets evolving so rapidly, traditional wet chemistry kits cannot keep pace with the constant influx of unknown substances. The  TruNarc handheld analyzer features a regularly updated library to quickly adapt to new designer drugs and emerging variations as they gain traction in the market. The library also includes key drugs of abuse, cuttings agents, and precursors to allow precise analysis of a range of substances. The analyzer leverages widely accepted Raman spectroscopy, a proven technology with high chemical specificity that excels at identifying liquids, gels, pastes, and light-colored solid materials, including tablets and the contents of capsules. This makes the TruNarc analyzer an ideal screening tool, whether on the street, in a police station, at a customs checkpoint, or in a forensic laboratory. 

 

 

 

Thermo Scientific

TruNarc Handheld

Narcotics Analyzer

Thermo Scientific

1064Defender Handheld

Raman Analyzer

Thermo Scientific

Gemini Chemical Identification Analyzer

with LowDoseID

Testing Process

Field-based presumptive narcotics, precursor and cutting agent testing.

User flexible instrument for narcotics identification.

Integrated Raman and FTIR for narcotics, chemical and explosive identification with LowDoseID.

Agency Requirements

Agencies who are looking for a tool where presumptive testing of narcotics is the primary focus.

Agencies who also want a flexible library to include their own substances. 

Agencies looking for an advanced chemical identification analyzer that offers multiple technologies for confirmatory analysis within the same instrument.

Key Benefits

Efficient, economical and safe.

Definitive answers. Maximum flexibility.

The industry standard offering integrated Raman and FTIR for chemical and explosive ID.

Hazardous materials identification

Safe and proper disposal of hazardous materials is a growing concern for communities around the globe. Hazmat technicians, firefighters and incident commanders need to quickly analyze and identify the contents of unlabeled spilled material and illegally dumped drums. Increasingly complex industrial processes introduce new toxic chemicals that require special disposal and waste treatment facilities that need to test and verify the products they receive.

 

Traditional hazmat analysis at a remote laboratory adds time and expense to the remediation process. Thermo Scientific  FirstDefender, TruDefender, Defender Omega, and Gemini handheld analyzers harness the power of Raman or FTIR spectroscopy to quickly verify the contents of drums, bags, bottles and more directly in the hazard zone.

Explosives threat detection

With the increase of improved explosive device (IED) usage worldwide, precise determination of explosives has never been more important. Personnel who need to analyze potential explosive threats and preserve evidence turn to us for portable identification system to counter these threats.

 

Because today’s IEDs are not only fueled by traditional explosive materials like TNT but are made in crude chemical labs using industrial chemicals like nitric acid, ammonium nitrate, diesel fuel and even sugar, they can sometimes avoid detection by traditional explosive detection technologies and trained explosives detection dogs. Military forces and civilian responder agencies are researching and quickly deploying new portable identification systems to counter the current IED threat.

Now, for bomb squads and EOD teams who need to identify potential explosive threats and preserve evidence, Thermo Fisher Scientific offers the  Gemini Chemical Identification Analyzer. Based on the industry-leading FirstDefender and TruDefender handheld analyzers, Gemini is the first analyzer to integrate FTIR and Raman spectroscopy in one instrument to offer a broader range of explosives identification than either technology alone. Available with the optional HazMaster G3™ decision support system from Alluviam LLC, the handheld Gemini analyzer enables virtual mixture analysis and interactive problem solving for more informed, safe decision making in the hazard zone.

Chemical agents and weapons identification

Ensure public safety by rapidly identifying chemical weapons and chemical agents. Thermo Scientific chemical identification instruments deliver instant, actionable data for quick decision making in critical situations.  Perform rapid testing and identification of chemical warfare agents (CWAs), toxic industrial chemicals (TICs), toxic industrial materials (TIMs), and numerous other hazardous substances in the field.

 

Thermo Fisher Scientific is the industry-recognized leader in handheld Raman technology with over 10,000 instruments, including the Thermo Scientific FirstDefender RMX Handheld Chemical Identification Analyzer, deployed within every branch of the US military as well as within military and law enforcement agencies throughout the world. Combining sophisticated technologies including Raman and FTIR, and an incredibly easy-to-use interface, our chemical identification products provide rapid, reliable field-based results quickly—in virtually any location.

Radiation detection

Our integrated solutions include portable radiation detection, dosimetry, and monitoring systems that protect personnel, critical infrastructure, defined surveillance sites, and surrounding areas.

 

Natural Background Rejection (NBR) technology is critical to more accurate detection, location, and identification of radioactive nuclides such as nuclear weapons, dirty bombs, and orphaned or purposely masked sources. Our portals, monitors, probes, Geiger-Mueller detectors, and other radiation detection and monitoring instruments feature this patented technology.

For the presumptive identification or detection of narcotics, hazardous materials, chemical agents, explosives, and radiological threats only.