Stella Spera

Dr. Stella Spera


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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28 September 2022 in Molecules
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
CSClaudia Scappaticci
Claudia Scappaticci
SSStella Spera
Stella Spera
Alessandra BiancolilloAlessandra Biancolillo
Alessandra Biancolillo
Federico MariniFederico Marini
Federico Marini
In the present work, a fast, relatively cheap, and green analytical strategy to identify and quantify the fraudulent (or voluntary) addition of a drug (alprazolam, the API of Xanax®) to an alcoholic drink of large consumption, namely gin and tonic, was developed using coupling near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) and chemometrics. The approach used was both qualitative and quantitative as models were built that would allow for highlighting the presence of alprazolam with high accuracy, and to quantify its concentration with, in many cases, an acceptable error. Classification models built using partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) allowed for identifying whether a drink was spiked or not with the drug, with a prediction accuracy in the validation phase often higher than 90%. On the other hand, calibration models established through the use of partial least squares (PLS) regression allowed for quantifying the drug added with errors of the order of 2–5 mg/L.