MIAMI (WTXL) - Researchers at Florida International University have patented new tests that can quickly and cost-effectively confirm the presence of cocaine.
Police can cary out the tests on the side of the road – one test on saliva and the other on unknown powders.
In each case, the substance to be tested is added to a liquid solution developed by FIU chemist Yi Xiao and her students in the College of Arts, Sciences and Education. If the substance is cocaine, the sample glows under a blue light in seconds.
"We’re trying to detect a grain of cocaine dissolved in a swimming pool," biochemistry Ph.D. student Haixiang Yu said. “But it is even more complicated because saliva has proteins and salts that are different from person to person."
Traditional methods to confirm whether a person has used cocaine are much more expensive, complicated and time consuming, Yu said. Law enforcement must first obtain blood or urine samples, which are tested in a lab.
Results usually take weeks and may yield false positives and false negatives, he said. With these tests, accurate results can be obtained within a fraction of the time and at an affordable cost.
Whether powder or saliva, the tests are completed in a one-step process that doesn’t require expensive equipment or lab-based services.
