Drug Test Developed for Saliva, Sweat

ONESBORO, Ark. — Drug detection as easy as taking a swipe of someone's sweat could someday be in the hands of law enforcement, thanks to research conducted at the Arkansas Biosciences Institute at Arkansas State University.

"The hardest problems in science are often solved with just one question," said Robyn Hannigan, associate professor of chemistry and physics at ASU.

During testing of tobacco smoke, fellow researcher Roger Buchanan asked Hannigan to develop a test that would allow him to measure the amount of nicotine absorbed by lab rats.

He wanted a test that was a lot faster than traditional tests, which require a blood sample to be analyzed.

Hannigan and her students developed a swipe test to allow a drop of saliva or sweat to be measured.

"Then we thought, 'Hey, if you can do this for a drug like nicotine, why not cannabis or methamphetamine?' It turns out you can," Hannigan said.

Hannigan patented the process and is now working to develop it into a working model for human testing. She and her company, Hyphenated Solutions Inc., have begun pursuing Federal Drug Administration approval for the technique and grants from the National Institutes of Health.