Rockville, Maryland, February 12, 2026 — AOAC INTERNATIONAL (AOAC) recently completed a collaboration with the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which was supported by a NIST Measurement Science and Engineering (MSE) grant and resulted in two key deliverables— an AOAC Standard Method Performance Requirements (SMPRs®) document (AOAC SMPR® 2025.002) and a standard method validation protocol (AOAC SP 2025.001)—designed to promote consistency and quality across drug test strips for detection of multiple drug classes, including benzodiazepines, fentanyl, medetomidine, nitazenes, and xylazine in selected drug product solids, liquids, and residues.
The validation protocol is the first published by AOAC under a new codification system for AOAC Standard Protocols. The standards were developed over a period of 11 months with a working group of 52 volunteers representing academia, government, laboratories, nongovernmental organizations/nonprofits, and technology providers from nine countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, Switzerland, Vietnam, United Kingdom, and United States). The working group was co-chaired by Edward Sisco, Ph.D., and Sarah Shuda of the Surface & Trace Chemical Analysis Group at NIST. An interactive training webinar was delivered by the working group co-chairs and AOAC staff to explain important details included in the standards and address questions. In the webinar, Sisco said, “Understanding the performance of the test strips was the main goal of this project. Through the discussions in the working group, it was decided to develop performance requirements for both the bulk materials, meaning the actual drug products, and for the residue or trace level amounts, since used bags or used drug paraphernalia also need to be sampled and tested.”
These AOAC standards are needed to support appropriate validation of test strips, ensuring reliable detection of drugs in selected products. By establishing acceptable performance and method validation requirements, both manufacturers and end-users are better positioned to ensure that test strips are fit-for-purpose. Method developers are invited to validate and certify their methods through the AOAC Performance Tested MethodsSM (PTM) program through this Call for PTM Applications.
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About AOAC INTERNATIONAL
Founded in 1884 with beginnings in the USDA and US FDA, AOAC INTERNATIONAL is an independent, non-profit membership association of analytical science professionals across government, industry, and academia worldwide. Its mission is to advance food safety and product integrity through standards, validated test methods, and laboratory quality programs. AOAC publishes outcomes in the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL, and its methods and standards in the Official Methods of AnalysisSM. It also provides laboratory proficiency testing programs and facilitates collaboration and training of scientists and other stakeholders to address challenges with sustainable analytical solutions. www.aoac.org
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