Published Wednesday by the American Chemical Society (ACS), the study from Korean researchers developed a multicoloured temporary tattoo that reacts to the presence of GHB, a compound described as “commonly associated with drug-facilitated sexual assault.”
According to the study, the chemicals in the tattoo can detect concentrations of GHB in beer, liquor or coffee, changing colour from yellow to red in order to alert the wearer that their beverage may have been spiked.
“In practice, a wearer could dip a finger into a beverage, touch the drop to the sticker and see the result almost immediately,” the release reads.
The newly developed tattoos not only allow the users to test their drinks discreetly, but also act far faster than some older tests, delivering results in less than a second, rather than minutes.
Researchers also say the results last for up to a month, which can help preserve evidence of suspected tampering.
Also direct link to ACS
I mean I am an expert in this sort of thing and I agree this is kind of a dumb idea. The innovation here is not the production of a color changing indicator, but rather putting it in a temporary tattoo. The indicator has existed for some time, and is well studied. The temporary tattoo thing is cool, but I question whether the additional cost and complexity of using it this way is worth it over existing technology, such as paper test strips. The criticism that it only tests for a specific, not commonly used drug is also valid because even though it is complicated to make something that tests for multiple drugs is far more complicated, not testing for the most commonly used drugs can create a false sense of security. It’s like if you went to a big concert and security was outside only checking for swords and knives and not guns. Yeah those things are also dangerous but it’s not the biggest threat. To further the analogy, imagine if a decent subset of people believed the security guards were checking for guns but weren’t. That would be pretty bad right? I can’t imagine the anti date rape temporary tattoo wouldn’t be misunderstood to test for a wide variety of drugs or at the very least the most common ones by at least a decent chunk of people trying to use it.
Thanks for your input.
While it isn’t the sole mean to end all date rape drugging, it is one additional tool to combat it. And the question regarding price is valid, but easier and more hidden way of using it is also an important factor for some. Not everybody is comfortable making a big scene in a bar.
Regarding selectivity: as an expert, is there a better indicator with broader selectivity without too many common false positives? As chemist, I can’t really imagine that, since the chemical structures I find for other date rape drugs are so different and no common structural motive between them.