Conexiant
Login
  • The Analytical Scientist
  • The Cannabis Scientist
  • The Medicine Maker
  • The Ophthalmologist
  • The Pathologist
  • The Traditional Scientist
The Analytical Scientist
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Latest
    • News & Research
    • Trends & Challenges
    • Keynote Interviews
    • Opinion & Personal Narratives
    • Product Profiles
    • App Notes

    Featured Topics

    • Mass Spectrometry
    • Chromatography
    • Spectroscopy

    Issues

    • Latest Issue
    • Archive
  • Topics

    Techniques & Tools

    • Mass Spectrometry
    • Chromatography
    • Spectroscopy
    • Microscopy
    • Sensors
    • Data and AI

    • View All Topics

    Applications & Fields

    • Clinical
    • Environmental
    • Food, Beverage & Agriculture
    • Pharma and Biopharma
    • Omics
    • Forensics
  • People & Profiles

    People & Profiles

    • Power List
    • Voices in the Community
    • Sitting Down With
    • Authors & Contributors
  • Business & Education

    Business & Education

    • Innovation
    • Business & Entrepreneurship
    • Career Pathways
  • Events
    • Live Events
    • Webinars
  • Multimedia
    • Video
Subscribe
Subscribe

False

The Analytical Scientist / Issues / 2020 / Mar / Coke Check
Mass Spectrometry

Coke Check

A simple fingerprint test could distinguish cocaine users from those who come in contact with the drug

By Matt Hallam 03/03/2020 1 min read

Share

Blood and urine are conventional matrices for drug testing, but both are biohazards – which has implications for storage and transport – and a potential invasion of privacy. “Fingerprint samples, on the other hand, are safe, easy to transport, and can be easily collected by non-medical staff,” says Catia Costa, investigator of a novel method that uses fingerprints to detect illicit drug use. Donor identity can be imbedded on the ridge of the sample to stop cheats, making it particularly useful in drug rehabilitation centers, jails, and probation services.

“We started by exploring a range of MS techniques: desorption electrospray ionization, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization, liquid-extraction surface analysis, paper spray, and LC-MS,” says Costa. However, due to the “complex” nature of fingerprint samples (which compose sebaceous, eccrine and external contaminants), high-resolution MS (HRMS) was required to differentiate the sample components adequately. An extra layer of complication? The need to distinguish drug ingestion from environmental contamination.
 

Fingerprint samples used in the study, collected on Whatman Grade 1 chromatography paper

Researchers set out to detect benzoylecgonine (a prominent cocaine metabolite) on fingerprint samples from non-drug users, patients admitted to a drug rehabilitation clinic testifying to use of cocaine in the last 24 hours, and volunteers who touched cocaine (seized by the Forensic Science Ireland) in controlled conditions for study purposes – before and after hand washing – using paper-spray HRMS. Oral fluid samples were also analyzed by LC-MS/MS to corroborate fingerprinting results.

The outcome? A method able to distinguish between cocaine ingestion and handling; benzoylecgonine could only be detected on the washed hands of individuals who had ingested cocaine. But the method is not without challenges. “The variable nature of fingerprints, and the differing secretion of this compound based on rates of secretion and pressure of contact between the finger and drug-testing matrix (triangular Whatman Grade 1 chromatography paper) complicates matters, especially in cases where quantitation is required” admits Costa.

Next? Testing therapeutic drugs to tackle treatment noncompliance – especially for leading killers, such as tuberculosis.
 

Home-built paper spray source for fingerprint analysis

Newsletters

Receive the latest analytical science news, personalities, education, and career development – weekly to your inbox.

Newsletter Signup Image

About the Author(s)

Matt Hallam

I've always wanted a job that fosters creativity - even when I worked on the assembly line in a fish factory. Outside work, I satisfy this need by writing questionable fiction. The venture into science writing was an unexpected departure from this fiction, but I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to combine my creative side with my scientific mind as Editor of The Analytical Scientist.

More Articles by Matt Hallam

False

Advertisement

Recommended

False

Related Content

 This Week’s Mass Spec News
Mass Spectrometry
This Week’s Mass Spec News

April 4, 2025

2 min read

 What If Computers Could Smell?
Mass Spectrometry
What If Computers Could Smell?

April 3, 2025

13 min read

Computers can “see” and “hear,” but fully digitizing scent has so far eluded science – but that may soon change

The Analytical Scientist Innovation Awards 2024: #6
Mass Spectrometry
The Analytical Scientist Innovation Awards 2024: #6

December 3, 2024

3 min read

Syft Technologies’ William Pelet introduces the Syft Explorer – the world's first fully mobile, real-time, and direct trace gas analyzer

The Analytical Scientist Innovation Awards 2024: #4
Mass Spectrometry
The Analytical Scientist Innovation Awards 2024: #4

December 5, 2024

6 min read

Thermo Fisher Scientific’s high-sensitivity mass spec for translational omics research – the Stellar MS – is ranked 4th in our annual Innovation Awards

False

The Analytical Scientist
Subscribe

About

  • About Us
  • Work at Conexiant Europe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 Texere Publishing Limited (trading as Conexiant), with registered number 08113419 whose registered office is at Booths No. 1, Booths Park, Chelford Road, Knutsford, England, WA16 8GS.