Wearable sticker could prevent ‘spiking’ by detecting drugs in drinks

By Stephen Beech

A temporary tattoo could prevent "spiking" by detecting drugs in drinks.

The sticker responds within one second to even low concentrations of the drug γ-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), say scientists.

Downing a drink spiked with drugs, including Rohypnol - known as "roofies" - or GHB when drinking in a social setting is an ever-present danger.

The drugs are colorless and tasteless, inducing a stupor in the victim that’s similar to severe alcohol intoxication, which can lead people to be vulnerable to non-consensual sexual contact or sexual assault.

People can protect themselves by testing their drinks with specialized strips or cards that change color when exposed to the drugs.

But current tests are often conspicuous or take minutes to report a result.

Now, researchers in South Korea have developed a rapid-acting test for GHB that’s worn on the skin using a tattoo-like sticker.

To create the stickers, the researchers placed a mold over a thin plastic film decorated with tattoo-like designs.

The team poured a gel mixture into the mold, containing a chemical receptor that turns red when it detects GHB.

They then coated the back of the sticker with a diluted glue solution, so it could stick to skin.

The researchers tested the sticker’s ability to detect small amounts of GHB in a range of drinks, including whiskey, vodka, beer and coffee.

The findings, published in the journal ACS Sensors, showed that, within a single second, it detected the drug across a range of concentrations and below a level that would induce serious physiological symptoms: 0.01 micrograms of GHB in one millilitre of beverage.

Study co-author Dr. Kyong-Cheol Ko, of the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, said: "In practice, a wearer could dip a finger into a beverage, touch the drop to the sticker and see the result almost immediately.

"And the sticker displays the positive result for up to 30 days after detection, which could be important if it’s needed as a form of evidence of tampering."

The researchers say that their sticker technology is cheap and easy to manufacture, and it could be commercially available soon.