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. 2024 Dec 20;11(1):e41381.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e41381. eCollection 2025 Jan 15.

Impact of crack cocaine on salivary nucleic acids, enzymes, esters, and lipids: A fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy study

Gabriela Ribeiro Zucco  1 , Taís Maria Cardoso de Oliveira  1 , Thaís Xavier Pereira da Silva  1 , Sandra Silva Marques  2 , Fernando Sabbag  2 , Marcelo Ribeiro de Araújo  2 , Rodrigo Melim Zerbinati  3 , Paulo Henrique Braz-Silva  3 , José Ângelo Lindoso  3   4   5 , Gabrielle Luana Jimenez Teodoro Nepomuceno  6 , Letícia Foiani  6 , Herculano da Silva Martinho  6 , Janete Dias Almeida  1
Affiliations

Impact of crack cocaine on salivary nucleic acids, enzymes, esters, and lipids: A fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy study

Gabriela Ribeiro Zucco et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to analyze saliva composition in crack users using vibrational spectroscopy.

Material and methods: A total of 90 participants were meticulously selected and divided into three groups, each comprising 30 individuals. All participants met the criterion of having no observable clinical changes in the oral mucosa. The groups included active crack users with a minimum usage duration of 30 days, ex-crack users, and non-crack users. Rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied during participant selection to ensure the study's precision. Saliva analysis was performed using vibrational spectroscopy with FTIR (Fourier-transform Infrared spectroscopy).

Results: Pre-processed spectra enabled statistical comparability. Salivary biomarkers revealed clinical implications, including findings related to xerostomia, caries, and periodontal or systemic conditions such as lung cancer.

Conclusion: The research uncovers significant compositional differences in the saliva of current users, former users, and non-users of crack. This nuanced understanding contributes to the discourse on substance abuse, highlighting the potential of saliva analysis for discerning different stages of crack use. The investigation suggests options for further exploration in clinical and forensic contexts, promising advancements in addiction research and diagnostics.

Keywords: Addiction; Cocaine; Crack cocaine; FTIR; Liquid biopsy; Saliva; Spectroscopy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Average FTIR spectra for the crack users (red line), ex crack users (green line) and control group (black line).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Pairwise score plots between the selected PLS-DA components for control (C, red triangle), ex-users of crack (green cross), and users of crack (blue x). The explained variance of each component is shown in the corresponding diagonal cell, for all groups.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Performance of the classification model, calculated by cross-validation for control, users of crack, and ex-users of crack.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
VIP scores for components 1 (top left) and 5 (top right).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Scores plot for components 1 to 5 in the 800 cm−1 to 2000 cm−1 region of the FTIR spectra of the control (red triangle) and crack users (green cross) groups.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
VIP scores for components 4 (top left) and 5 (top right).
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Graph of the performance of the classifications model, calculated by cross-validation for control and users (users and ex-users of crack) groups.
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