NEWS: 42nd ecstasy tablet test developed
Thought this might have been posted before but can't find it elsewhere... just received via email...
D&AWg %)
Forty-second ecstasy tablet test developed
NewScientist.com news service
A new technique that rapidly analyses ecstasy tablets could provide an early
warning system for rogue pills and also police help trace illicit
manufacturers.
The method uses Raman spectroscopy to produce a fingerprint for each ecstasy
tablet. This reveals the concentration of the active ingredient MDMA plus
the identity of any toxic contaminants.
Researchers at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland applied the
technique to 1500 ecstasy pills and found that the dose of MDMA in each
tablet varied enormously - by as much as five-fold. But they also discovered
that none of the pills contained other toxic substances.
"However, the variation in MDMA concentrations that we found could
themselves be very dangerous," says Steven Bell, whose team performed the work.
Laser light
In modern Raman spectroscopy, laser light is bounced off a sample and
analysed. About one photon in a million is absorbed by the molecules in the
material and is re-emitted at a different and characteristic wavelength.
The technique is fast - analysing a pill takes about 40 seconds. In
contrast, the gas chromatography technique currently used to analyse drugs
takes at least a day.
Forensic detectives are expected to be amongst the first to adopt the
technique. It will allow the screening of vast numbers of pills and
potentially link the tablets to their manufacturers. This could allow the
authorities to build up a more comprehensive picture of the ecstasy
production and distribution network.
Bell's work has already provided useful intelligence - that ecstasy
production still appears to be a cottage industry. Out of the 1500 pills
analysed by Bell's team, all but one were most likely made by different
manufacturers, even though 90 per cent were stamped with the same Mitsubishi
logo.
Some could have been made by the same person but to a different recipe, Bell
says, but overall "it implies that there are lots of different manufacturers
producing ecstasy".
The researchers now hope to miniaturise the equipment. At present it is
about two-thirds the size of a washing machine, but manufacturers are
working on shrinking it to the size of a shoebox.
This type of device could then be used on the street or in ports and
airports to quickly analyse suspect substances.
Alan Ryder, from the National University of Ireland in Galway, says that
Bell's work is likely to prove "especially useful to the authorities". Ryder
is also adapting Raman spectroscopy for use as a crime fighting tool.
"Eventually the police will be able to take the lab into a squad car with
them," he says.
Journal reference: The Analyst (DOI: 10.1039/b308312h)
Danny Penman
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