Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
In a paper published by The Journal of Analytical Toxicology, a team of experts from the University of Surrey detail how they have built on their world-leading fingerprint drug testing technology, based on high resolution mass spectrometry, which is now able to detect heroin, 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-AM) and other analytes associated with the class A drug.
The team took fingerprints from people seeking treatment at drug rehabilitation clinics who had testified to taking heroin or cocaine during the previous 24 hours. A fingerprint was collected from each finger of the right hand, and the participants were then asked to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water and then wear nitrile gloves for a period of time before giving another set of fingerprints. This same process was used to collect samples from 50 drug non-users.
The researchers found that the technology was able to identify traces of heroin and 6-AM on drug non-users in every scenario the researchers devised -- whether someone directly touched the drug, handled it and then thoroughly washed their hands, or had come into contact with heroin via shaking someone else's hand.
Surrey's system cross-referenced the information from the drug non-users with the volunteers who were being treated for drug dependency and found that compounds such as morphine, noscapine and acetylcodeine -- alongside heroin and 6-AM -- are essential to distinguishing those who have used the class A drug from those who have not. These analytes were only present in fingerprints from drug users.
Journal Reference:
Catia Costa, Mahado Ismail, Derek Stevenson, Brian Gibson, Roger Webb, Melanie Bailey. Distinguishing between Contact and Administration of Heroin from a Single Fingerprint using High Resolution Mass Spectrometry. Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 2019; DOI: 10.1093/jat/bkz088
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday November 12 2019, @06:47PM
Sure: the drug users inconvenienced themselves for the sake of .....yeah, whatever man, I'll wear the gloves FOR SURE! No problem.
Cos drug users, I'm sure, can be relied on 100%.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday November 12 2019, @06:59PM (6 children)
Can the drug fingerprint censors tell the difference between
a heroineheroin and prescription narcotic painkillers?To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 12 2019, @07:14PM (3 children)
the acetyl on the 6 carbon of morphine is a sure sing of heroin use, and heroin currently have no legitimate use.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 12 2019, @07:41PM (1 child)
If you don't regularly clear out your medicine cabinet, you may well still have some from when it was prescribed as a cough suppressant.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday November 12 2019, @08:19PM
Imagine you are on a cruise ship. The last couple days you get a cough. You didn't bring cough syrup. But on board ship, if you can even find it, it won't be cheap.
Based on experience, I can state that prescription hydrocodone in small doses is a cough suppressant.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday November 13 2019, @09:28PM
Heroin has no medical use only in the United States.
In the UK and elsewhere in the world it is still prescribed (diamorphine) for palliative care of hospice patients.
This sig for rent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @01:22PM (1 child)
Can anyone tell the difference?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @10:56PM
yes.