Drug abuse testing technology has improved tremendously over the last few years. The development of novel synthetic drugs, demand for quick & accurate results, and cannabis legislation have encouraged market players to invest in developing sophisticated drug abuse testing technology. According to Allied Market Research, the global drug abuse testing market is expected to reach $11.83 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 8.2% from 2018 to 2025. Increase in number of people who consume alcohol and surge in use of illicit drugs including cocaine, marijuana, and other have boosted the growth of the market.
The advancements in technologies and spectrometry along with increase in funding for the development of new drug testing technologies have boosted the market growth. Here are some of the major trends in the drug abuse testing industry:
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Use of biometrics for drug abuse testing
Biometrics have been used as a personal identifier and has been used in the financial sector and are related to law enforcement. The technology is now expected to be useful in detecting drug abuse. There is a technology that uses a fingerprint to detect remains of illicit drugs in a person’s system. The technology uses paper spray ionization that analyses the molecule emitted in the fingerprint as body metabolizes drugs. The most crucial part of the technology is that the drug abuse test is portable, non-invasive, and offers results in just a few seconds. Moreover, the test reduces the risk of alteration of urine samples or illegal substitution while providing identification of the subject being tested. More importantly, the test has proven to be more than 99% accurate.
Use of only a drop of blood and urine sample
Conventional drug abuse tests require urine or blood samples to offer accurate results. While it is widely used, there are some issues such as timeliness, scope of testing, and cost for the employers. However, a team of researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada aims to create new methods to minimize the time for testing samples and cut down it to less than a minute. Moreover, they have developed technology that demands only a single drop of blood–rather than an entire vial or container that is required in conventional drug abuse testing. The technology includes blade spray ionization mass spectrometry that detects more than 100 drugs in the test subject within a few seconds, which reduces the overall cost to only a few dollars.
Use of simple medium such as toothpick for collecting samples
The rapid detection of drug abuse has encouraged researchers to come up with high-tech processes. The researchers at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University have developed drug abuse testing system that uses wooden-tip electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. They have used toothpicks as medium for collecting samples and combination of spray ionization and high voltage to detect illicit drugs without the requirement of chromatographic separation. As per the researchers, the technology is more accurate and provides results in less time without involving a lot of technicians. What’s more, the technology is portable which makes it more suitable in the corporate sector.
Breath analyzers for cannabis consumption
When it comes to alcohol abuse testing, we think of breath analyzers. However, the existing technology has its demerits. Thus, researchers in Sweden have developed a screening method for drug abuse on the basis of exhaled breath with the use of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Drug abuse testing technology can detect various substances such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines, cannabis, and amphetamines. The technology analyses aerosol particles in the subject’s breath sample that originates from airway lining fluid. The legalization of cannabis in the U.S. and Canada has pushed the development of such technologies as they offer quick breath analysis in both corporate environment and roadside. It is observed that THC remains in the user’s body for weeks after the use of cannabis. Thus, there is a need for developing drug abuse testing that offers accurate results regarding the time of use. The saliva-based technology is by far the most accurate, reliable, and popular currently. However, in the coming years, breath-based detection of consumption of cannabis will be widely used.
Use of hair for drug abuse testing
The use of hair for drug abuse testing is not new. It is known to offer the highest level of accuracy as consumed chemicals remain in hair as it grows. However, its detection is not as easy as it seems. The traces of drug usage can remain in the hair for months, thus it does not inform regarding the time margin of drug consumption. The main advantage is that hair can be deposited for a long period and cannot fool the system by sample modification. Along with hair, toenail and fingernail samples are used for drug testing as their analysis gives similar results.
Author Bio: Swamini Kulkarni has always had a keen interest in reading and writing. An engineering graduate, she forayed into the field of writing due to her love for words and the urge to do something different. Allied Market Research has given her the chance to gain knowledge about different subjects as a Specialist Content Writer.
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