A simple new test can detect if a person has ingested
cocaine, by analysing their fingerprints
A new test can determine if a person has taken cocaine
by analysing a single fingerprint, scientists have
revealed.
Led by the University of Surrey, researchers have
pioneered the new non-invasive test, which can
distinguish between those who have ingested the class
A drug, and those who have just touched it.
They used different types of an analytical chemistry
technique known as mass spectrometry to analyse the
fingerprints of patients attending drug treatment
services.
They tested the prints against more commonly used
saliva samples to determine whether the two tests
correlated.
In the past, tests have employed similar methods.
But they have only been able to show whether a person
had touched cocaine, not whether they had actually
taken the drug.
Dr Melanie Bailey, from the University of Surrey, said:
'When someone has taken cocaine, they excrete traces
of benzoylecgonine and methylecgonine as they
metabolise the drug, and these chemical indicators are
present in fingerprint residue.
'For out part of the investigations, we sprayed a beam of
solvent on to the fingerprint slide to determine if these
substances were present.
'The technique has been used for a number of forensic
applications, but no other studies have shown it to
demonstrate drug use.'
The researchers said the applications for their new test
could be far reaching.
Drug testing is used routinely by probation services,
prisons, courts and other law enforcement agencies.
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