R&D | Optical sensor material for drug detection in sweat
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Date21-02-01 14:56 Hit656Link
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KIMS developed an optical sensor material for drug detection in sweat |
Researchers at KIMS have successfully developed a wearable sensor that can detect illegal drugs in sweat by using
nanomaterials technology that amplifies the optical signal of narcotics to flexible, body-worn material. Led by Dr. Ho Sang
Jung, the research unit is part of the Korea Institute of Materials Science, a government-funded research institute under the
Ministry of Science and ICT.
The technology enables fast and highly sensitive drug detection: the sweat patch is attached to the skin for a certain period of
time and then irradiated with light for testing. It only takes one minute without requiring an additional process. The researchers
focused on sweat which is not invasive and relatively free from human rights issues. However, an only a small amount of
substances is discharged in sweat, even though sweat contains various drugs taken so a highly sensitive sensor technology
had to be developed for better detection.
The team’s highly sensitive sensing utilized the surface-enhanced Raman scattering technology capable of enhancing the
Raman signal of chemical substances by 1010 times and more. As the Raman scattering signal includes the specific signal of
molecules, intuitive substance identification is possible no matter what drug is discharged.
Dr. Ho Sang Jung, the leader of a research unit, said, “As seen in recent drug-related crimes, Korea is no longer a drug-free
country. The developed technology would overcome the technological limitations on identifying drug and prohibited substance
use and enable drug detection without invasive and ethical problems.”