Fentanyl Antibody

[clubcard]

Hi,
I know that the new drug tests use antibodies so even tiny amounts of a drug cause a clear colour change. Does anybody know if the fentanyl test is in this class and if so, where details might be sought? The reasons are purely HR. Fentanyl is being cut into UK heroin and a 'drip test' would mean IV users would KNOW it had been cut and so 'taste' the dose (not shoot the whole lot initially) thus saving lives. Exchange Supplies would have to be able to produce them but if a credit-card sized piece of cardboard had 15 or even 30 tests, it would last users a while.

Thanks in advance,
CC

 

[serotonin2A]

EMIT uses antibodies but the technique isn't so simple that it can be put on cardboard -- it has to be run on a plastic plate. The other problem is that you have to run the assays in multiple steps -- the drug is added to the plate (which has the antibody bound to the wells), an enzyme system is added, and then a substrate is added.

Fentanyl antibodies exist but they are not cheap.

The other option would be immunoassay, similar to how they do home pregnancy tests, but that isn't something you could put on cardboard. I'm thinking that the cost would be prohibitively expensive ($5-$10 per test).

 

[sekio]

TLC plates

 

[clubcard]

Well,
The DEA have a specific antibody which forms a red line on a plastic surface just by dripping a solution onto it. Exchange Supplies are on it.

 

[serotonin2A]

Well,
The DEA have a specific antibody which forms a red line on a plastic surface just by dripping a solution onto it. Exchange Supplies are on it.

They almost certainly use a type of immunoassay called a lateral flow test -- the same basic idea behind a pregnancy test. It is substantially more complicated than just putting an antibody on a piece of paper. They actually use two different antibodies, one that is covalently bound to the surface of the test strip at the location of the indicating line, and another antibody that is dye-labeled and that is actually responsible for the color change.

EDIT: Are the products below what you are looking for? These use lateral flow immunoassay:

http://www.testkitsathome.com/fentanyl-single-dip-box-of-25/
http://www.btnx.com/Product.aspx?id=16940

You can find instructions on how to make immunoassay strips in the following article. You just have to substitute a fentanyl monoclonal antibody.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC540212/

The main drawback would be the price per strip. Antibodies are expensive -- fentanyl antibodies cost about $600 per mg. Assuming 10 micrograms per test, the amount of antibody on each strip would cost $6. The actual cost per strip would be higher.