Low-cost chip may make cocaine breathalyser feasible

Researchers at the University at Buffalo, New York, have developed an inexpensive chip that can detect the presence of cocaine. The research team hopes that the chip is the first step in developing a portable cocaine breathalyser that can detect whether a person has recently used the drug.

The chip was developed using a process called surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (Sers). Researchers described the process as building a ‘layer cake’ where an insulating material is sandwiched between a layer of silver and gold nanoparticles and a silver mirror.

When researchers place a chemical substance, such as cocaine, on the surface of the chip, light scatters and creates recognisable patterns that function as fingerprints and identify the substance present. Researchers said that the chip was extremely stable and still functioned well even after being stored for a year.

One of the chip’s major benefits is its low cost of production, which researchers said was only a few pence, making it suitable for widespread use.

Joshua Harris, the director of campaigns with the UK road-safety charity, Brake, called the development of the chip ‘exciting’ and said, “These findings have the potential to improve the speed and accuracy of roadside drug testing.”

Harris said drug-driving had been a factor in 81 fatal roadway crashes in 2016 and that it was a constant danger on the country’s roads. He called for the government to make the approval of this type of roadside testing device a priority and increase policing efforts to deter drug-driving.