Researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) have developed a new kind of drug test capable of detecting four different classes of drugs in the traces of sweat found in fingerprints — a technology that has been successfully demonstrated on both the living and the deceased.

According to the team’s findings, the Intelligent Fingerprinting Drug Screening System from UEA spinout Intelligent Fingerprinting can be used to detect cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and cannabis in the sample of a single fingerprint — in just 10 minutes.

U.K. coroners also demonstrated that the system could detect the presence of such drugs in the sweat of fingerprint samples collected from cadavers.

Current methods for drug screening involve collecting saliva or urine samples — processes that are invasive for the individual. Yet, the solution presented by UEA researchers and Intelligent Fingerprinting shows promise in terms of being non-invasive as well as non-biohazardous. In fact, the team believes the system will prove valuable in rehab centers, workplace settings, during airport screenings and within prisons.

According to Emeritus Professor David Russell, Intelligent Fingerprinting’s founder and chief scientific officer from UEA’s School of Chemistry, "This new research highlights how our lateral flow drug screening cartridge can screen rapidly for drug use in individuals using a fingerprint sample with a sample collection time of only five seconds, and a total analysis time of ten minutes. Our study also showed how our technology is being used by coroners to assist in gaining early understanding of the possible cause of death, and to inform potential further post-mortem activities or quickly facilitate police investigations."

"We matched the coroners' drug test results obtained using our fingerprint drug screen with a second sample tested in laboratory conditions, achieving excellent correlation in terms of accuracy," he added. "We also compared our results with toxicological analysis of blood and urine samples, with a good correlation of results."

"This important research demonstrates how there is sufficient sweat present in a subject's fingerprint, regardless of whether the person is alive or dead, to enable our fingertip-based drug screening system to detect the presence of four major drugs of abuse at the same time," said Intelligent Fingerprinting's Dr. Paul Yates. "The results from our coroner service trials also clearly demonstrate how our non-invasive fingerprint screen is simple to use, hygienic and offers an ideal complementary screening approach for the growing number of sectors that require a rapid and flexible drug test."

The research is published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology.