Learn how a new roadside marijuana detection test identifies THC
Learn how a new roadside marijuana detection test identifies THC
Saliva testing for cannabis could someday help identify impaired drivers.
© American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
SPEAKER: Whether or not recreational marijuana use is legal in your state, you can get pulled over and arrested for driving while high. Shalini Prasad, at University of Texas at Dallas, recently engineered a prototype roadside test for marijuana intoxication. All the test needs is a saliva sample to determine how much THC, the chemical in weed that gets you high, is in your system.
Here's how it works. Saliva is applied to a sensor strip coated with proteins that bind only to THC. If THC is present, it will bind to those proteins. Then the strip is placed in an electronic reader that applies a voltage. Proteins with bound THC behave differently.
So there's an increase in electrical currents, which can then be converted to THC concentration. If no THC is present, there's no binding and no changing current. The test can be done in less than three minutes and is accurate for THC levels as low as 100 picograms per milliliter. That's more than sensitive enough to detect typical THC levels after smoking.
Beyond the potential to help law enforcement, the researchers hope that data from this study might help with the development of relevant loss. Prasad is presenting her results at the American Chemical Society spring 2020 National Meeting & Exposition in Philadelphia.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Here's how it works. Saliva is applied to a sensor strip coated with proteins that bind only to THC. If THC is present, it will bind to those proteins. Then the strip is placed in an electronic reader that applies a voltage. Proteins with bound THC behave differently.
So there's an increase in electrical currents, which can then be converted to THC concentration. If no THC is present, there's no binding and no changing current. The test can be done in less than three minutes and is accurate for THC levels as low as 100 picograms per milliliter. That's more than sensitive enough to detect typical THC levels after smoking.
Beyond the potential to help law enforcement, the researchers hope that data from this study might help with the development of relevant loss. Prasad is presenting her results at the American Chemical Society spring 2020 National Meeting & Exposition in Philadelphia.
[MUSIC PLAYING]