RICHLAND, Wash. – The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has unveiled a new device that could transform drug testing, making it faster and more efficient.
The device, which took over a decade to develop, has the potential to revolutionize the detection of drugs like fentanyl and cocaine.
Chemist Robert Ewing, who played a pivotal role in this discovery, explained the inspiration behind the device. “We don’t always know exactly what the dog sniffs, what they smell. But they clearly are capable of detecting really low levels of vapors,” Ewing said.
The journey began with a discovery Ewing made ten years ago. He noted, “We thought we couldn’t see vapor of some of these things because of a low vapor pressure… The concentration.”
The challenge was detecting chemicals that release less vapor into the air, which are harder to identify. Traditionally, drug detection involves contact sampling, a process that can take from 5 to 30 minutes. However, the new non-contact system developed by PNNL can detect fentanyl in seconds.
“So you can be able to effectively sniff that air coming off of the drugs and be able to detect it,” Ewing said.
Initially, the laboratory device was about the size of a washing machine and weighed around 400 pounds. The team aimed to make it more portable and usable in the field. “We’re now working with instruments about the size of a small microwave under 50 pounds,” Ewing stated.
In a recent test at Arizona’s southern border, the device successfully screened for fentanyl and other narcotics like cocaine and methamphetamine.
Ewing emphasized the importance of collaboration in this innovation. “I think that’s the key thing is just the ability to interact with other scientists,” he said.
The team is now focused on making the device even more portable and automated.
