Chemists at the National University of Singapore have developed a unique test to detect one of the major ‘date rape drugs’ , Gamma Hydroxy Butyric acid (GHB) in any beverage. Date rape drugs , also called predator drugs are sedatives which cause loss of consciousness and possibly amnesia , used widely for recreational and criminal purposes.Earlier tests involved chromatographic separation and subsequent testing, which required some bit of geeky apparatus and minimum 10 minutes, both of which are obviously the last things you have sitting in a club with a spiked drink in your hand. In this test, the ‘sensor’ when added to the drink makes GHB change its color to orange.
The team , from 17 fluorescent compounds , finalized what they call ‘GHB Orange’ , after testing all of them with drinks laced with various concentrations of GHB. The efficiency of ‘GHB Orange’ was determined by mixing with samples of various beverages , alcoholic, non alcoholic, colorless and colored ,containing GHB , which were differentiated from non spiked drinks by adding the sensor.
For transparent or translucent drinks, the difference was easy to make out with the naked eye, but in case of colored drinks , additional light was required to detect the color change.
The team is hoping to develop a commercial kit based on this tech, which is one which all clubbers really should be looking out for , keeping your safety in mind…
Source : DailyMail
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