New test detects drug use from a single fingerprint

Research published today in the journal Analyst has demonstrated a new, non-invasive test that can detect cocaine use through a simple fingerprint. For the first time, this new fingerprint method can determine whether cocaine has been ingested, rather than just touched. Led by the University of Surrey, a team of researchers from the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NL), the National Physical Laboratory (UK), King's College London (UK) and Sheffield Hallam University (UK), used different types of an analytical chemistry technique known as mass spectrometry to analyse the fingerprints of patients attending drug treatment services. They tested these prints against more commonly used saliva samples to determine whether the two tests correlated. While previous fingerprint tests have employed similar methods, they have only been able to show whether a person had touched cocaine, and not whether they have actually taken the drug. Dr Kim Wolff, Institute of Pharmaceutical Science at King's College London, said: 'The detection of illicit substances for drug screening purposes has entered an exciting phase where innovative techniques are beginning to show real promise and potential for use in clinical settings. The use of fingerprints for screening for illicit drugs will provide a non-invasive alternative to more usual screening tools.' Researchers believe that the applications for this test could be far-reaching.