INSTRUMENTATION DEVELOPMENT FOR DRUG DETECTION ON THE BREATH

BASED ON A SURVEY OF CANDIDATE ANALYTICAL METHODS, MASS SPECTROMETRY WAS IDENTIFIED AS A PROMISING TECHNIQUE FOR DRUG DETECTION ON THE BREATH. TO DEMONSTRATE ITS CAPABILITIES, AN EXISTING LABORATORY MASS SPECTROMETER WAS MODIFIED BY THE ADDITION OF A MEMBRANE SEPARATOR AND A FIELD-IONIZATION SOURCE. FOURTEEN DRUGS WERE SELECTED FOR INVESTIGATION AND IT WAS POSSIBLE TO IDENTIFY THE SIGNATURES (MASS SPECTRA) OF TEN OF THESE DRUGS WITH THE MODIFIED INSTRUMENT. SOME DRUGS HAVE BEEN DETECTED BY DIRECT SNIFFING, OTHERS FIRST HAD TO BE DISSOLVED IN A SUITABLE SOLVENT AND EVAPORATED. THE MASS SPECTRA PRESENTED IN THE REPORT INDICATE THE BASIC SIMPLICITY OF FIELD IONIZATION AS COMPARED WITH IONIZATION BY THE CONVENTIONAL METHOD OF ELECTRON IMPACT. THE REPORT CONCLUDES WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE EASE AND RAPIDITY OF THE NEW TECHNIQUE FOR CLINICAL ANALYSIS. /HSRI/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • REPORT NO: DOT-TSC-NHTSA-72-9
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation System Center

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Hobbs, J R
  • Barrington, A E
• Publication Date: 1972-9

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 37 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcohol breath tests; Detectors; Drugs; Instrumentation; Mass spectrometers; Methodology; Spectrometers
• Old TRIS Terms: Detecting devices
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00224294
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Research Institute
• Report/Paper Numbers: Final Rep
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 20 1973 12:00AM