Evaluation of a Colorimetric Screening Test for Basic Drugs in Urine

aspirate and discard the aqueous layer, D) store the TBP reagent in an amber bottle at 4 ~ C. A simple direct colorimetric test using a tetrabromo-phenolphthalain reagent for detecting basic drugs in urine is described. The response of 62 commonly en-countered drugs and metabolites to this test are de-scribed and 39 of these compounds were found to react. The sensitivity for many of the drugs is adequate for their detection following recommended therapeutic doses. In t roduct ion Simple rapid screening tests for detecting drugs and their metabolites in urine can be very useful. Currently there are several drugs for which there are no such tests