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Tuesday, 14th November 2006 (5965 views)

The detection of cocaine could be improved via the use of gold nanoparticle technology following the development of a new test.

Scientists at the University of Illinois have designed a new 'dipstick' testing kit that utilises DNA-gold nanoparticles to detect the presence of cocaine in human salvia, urine and blood serum.

It is hoped the kits will be easy to use and could provide vital information to healthcare professionals working in accident and emergency rooms.

Yi Lu, a chemistry professor and a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, explained: "The new sensors offer a quick and convenient test that can be utilised by first responders or emergency room staff to quickly screen individuals for a variety of drugs and other chemicals."

Each test makes use of aptamers, single-stranded nucleic acids that can bind to specific molecules and involves the selection of corresponding aptamer from a large DNA library to detect each substance – in this case cocaine.

The research was been partly funding by US department of energy, the National Science Foundation and the US Army Research Laboratory and is published in the international edition of the journal Angewandte Chemie.

 

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