Fingerprints can reveal within seconds if someone has been taking cocaine, say scientists.
The British technique could pave the way for a simple new test for the illegal class A drug.
Researchers from the University of Surrey developed a way of analysing chemical cocaine traces in fingerprints.
When someone has taken the drug, traces of two “marker” chemicals benzoylecgonine and methylecgonine are excreted from the skin.
(Steve Parsons/PA)
The chemicals are present in fingerprint residue, and can be detected even when a person is tested after hand washing.
The Surrey team used a chemical analysis method called paper spray mass spectrometry to identify the cocaine markers in fingerprints from patients seeking treatment at drug rehabilitation centres.
It proved to be 99% effective at detecting cocaine use among the patients.
Dr Melanie Bailey, who co-led the study, said: “This is a real breakthrough in our work to bring a real-time, non-invasive drug-testing method to the market that will provide a definitive result in a matter of minutes. We are already working on a 30-second method.
(Svand/Getty Images)
“It is non-invasive, hygienic and can’t be faked. By the nature of the test, the identity of the subject and their drug use is all captured within the sample itself.”
The technology could be adopted by law enforcement agencies within the next decade, said the researchers.
The study is reported in the journal Clinical Chemistry.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here