Novel Hybrid Sensors for On-Site Drug Detection

The legalization of marijuana has been a recent hot topic of debate. Marijuana – which contains Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) as its active compound – is a drug that is used mainly for its psychoactive properties. Medicinally, it can relieve pain for those with chronic illnesses or disorders. The sudden move toward legalization has forced law enforcement into situations where the use is legal, but there are no limitations for what is acceptable for driving. As a result, there is still a zero-tolerance policy – unlike alcohol which has very clear legal limits. When it comes to alcohol use, law enforcement have breathalyzers as their means of detecting alcohol use. Currently, there is no such device for use of marijuana. When a person consumes alcohol, the body eliminates ethanol – the main component of alcohol – via sweat and blood. For marijuana, the active compound Δ9-THC is converted to several metabolites such as 11-Nor-9-carboxy-THC (THC-COOH which are also released by the body via blood, sweat or urine. Throughout this semester, I have conducted research that focuses on the development and optimization of a novel, non-invasive approach to THC-COOH detection using a person’s fingerprint. Ultimately enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) will be used to capture the THC-COOH from the sample. Ideally, law enforcement would be able to use this on the roadside as the reaction generates a color-change that is visible to the naked eye. The methodology is straightforward and can easily be modified for additional illicit drugs and their metabolites