UWE Bristol researchers develop new method to detect GHB in drinks
The substance - which is known for its strong sedative and amnesic effects - has been linked to poisoning and overdose, as well as sexual assault cases
Researchers at UWE Bristol have found an innovative way of using a simple smartphone to detect the presence of drugs in drinks.
The discovery - which simply involves a smartphone and a colour detector app - means the presence of so-called 'date rape' drugs can now be found without the need for a laboratory.
It's thanks to the work of academics, who have discovered the presence of the illegal substance gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) can be identified by the colour of a drink following the addition of a simple chemical reagent.
So, if the colour checker app detects a particular concentration of purple, researchers say it means the liquid is highly likely to contain the Class C drug.
GHB, which possesses strong sedative and amnesic effects, has has been linked to drug-facilitated sexual assault cases, poisoning, and overdose.
As GHB has restricted availability, users are switching to its alternative gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), which is legal to purchase in the UK but has the same effects as GHB when consumed orally.
Researcher Dr Kevin Honeychurch, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Chemistry, said GHB has previously been challenging to detect using spot testing, liquid chromatography, biosensing and gas chromatographic methods.
This means, to simply detect the presence of the drug, it generally means sending the liquid off to a laboratory and for it to be tested by trained staff.
Working with UWE Bristol student Anselmo Procida, Dr Honeychurch has developed an alternative method which involves adding readily available chemicals (hydroxylamine and ferric chloride) to a drink and then checking the liquid with a free smartphone app to measure the level of purple it produces.
Researchers believe the technology could be developed for point-of-use or care use, to detect the presence of the drug without the need for time-consuming and expensive laboratory tests.
“There is a growing need for methods capable of determining GBL in complex samples such as beverages,” said Dr Honeychurch. “There has recently been a rise in drink spiking incidents reported in the UK, and high-profile cases relating to the misuse of GHB have appeared in the media.
“This application uses a technology available to virtually everybody, outside of a laboratory setting and is operable without professional training or complex laboratory instrumentation.”
“The huge advantage of this approach is that it rules out the need for expensive pieces of lab equipment to conduct the tests,” said Anselmo Procida, who is studying forensic science at UWE Bristol.
“Tests could be done out in the field, at the point of need, as smartphones are devices that most people carry with them and are always available. Because it is a simple test you can conduct on the drink yourself, it doesn’t require technical knowledge.”
They used the app 'Color Picker and Helper' for the research, which looks at the numerical values of red, green and blue. Using those numbers, researchers were able to determine the concentration of GHB present.
The findings of the research were published in a paper, which you can find here.