The researchers at the University of Surrey have devised a method to test for cocaine ingestion through a painless and quick method. This test is based upon rapid and high resolution spectrometry which determines from a fingerprint sample, the usage of the drug; cocaine. In drug trials time is of the essence and this specific method can help save money and time on the other hand. Currently the team is also working to expand this research to all the pharmaceutical drugs so that a patient (consumer) can know if he/she is ingesting the right dosage. This method can test out samples in under two minutes and have proven highly effective.
The first question that comes into mind is whether it’ll be able to distinguish between the people who have just touched the drug (even for a commercial purpose) and the ones who have consumed it, since the legal ramifications for both are quite different. Also, the test should be able to detect correctly even after a person has washed their hands. Keeping this in mind, a cross-referencing scheme (to prove the theory in research) was conducted at drug rehabilitation clinics (people who testified of taking cocaine in the previous 24 hours), where the people who have consumed the drug were asked to give a fingerprint sample and then they were asked to wash their hands properly before giving the second set of fingerprints. The other half of the scheme included taking samples of non-drug users who have not consumed the drug but handled it. The results were in favour of the research and strengthened its base. Furthermore the commercial application of the fingerprint testing for drugs was tested on ground.
The main distinguishing key factor between the two (the consumer and the one who’ve just handled it) is a molecule that is a by-product after the ingestion of cocaine named Benzoylecgonine that is passed along in the sweat of a body which makes the fingerprint test highly effective by simply tracing this molecule and thus making drug tests easier, simpler, time-efficient and painless. The further applications of this technique is quite intriguing which makes this research one of the biggest leap in forensic sciences and thus makes it a commercial and easy-to-use (portable) drug test with a number of possibilities.
SOURCE: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200206080453.htm
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