Drug use proposed to be detected by smartphone swabs
French scientists have presented a simple and practical way to collect data on drug use from the surface of a smartphone. According to the researchers, the new method will be useful for doctors when providing assistance in cases of suspected overdose.
It can be important for doctors to understand the use of substances in order to choose the right treatment tactics for patients. Given the illegality of many drugs, this is often determined indirectly by comparing information with the results of chemical toxicological tests on blood or urine. However, methods such as wastewater analysis or anonymous neighbourhood surveys are not always convenient or accurate.
Dr Théo Willeman from the Central Hospital of the University of Grenoble (France) and his colleagues looked to smartphones for more suitable methods of tracking drug use. These devices are used daily by a large proportion of the population, especially young people. Their cases and screens leave fingerprints and skin grease, where traces of drugs can be found. In addition, some people use illegal substances directly from the surface of smartphones.
To test the concept, the scientists organised an experiment in a nightclub in Grenoble in February 2023. The study took place at two parties with electronic music in the styles of techno and trance. During each of the events, flyers were distributed in the club inviting people to anonymously fill out questionnaires and provide phone numbers for swabbing.
Visitors over the age of 18 who had used substances in the last week and had smartphones were invited to participate. The questionnaire was to report drug use and surface smartphone use in the process. When swabs were taken, the devices were wiped on all sides with a wand with a cotton swab on the end.
In the end, the researchers collected 122 samples, which were later analysed using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry for drug detection. The researchers identified a range of drugs, and the most common were MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), cocaine and the cannabis component tetrahydrocannabinol.
In addition, ketamine, LSD, methamphetamine, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), cannabidiol, heroin, mescaline and several new psychoactive substances (NPS) were found in the samples. Analyses also showed the presence of drugs such as antidepressants, tranquillisers, sleeping pills and painkillers.
Based on this, the authors of the paper concluded that analysing smartphone swabs could serve as a useful additional tool for drug testing. Such a test can be fairly quick, which is especially important in cases of suspected overdose. Today, overdose deaths are a massive phenomenon: in the US alone, 107,000 people a year die from overdoses, and in Russia, for example, 10,000.
However, the study, published in the journal Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, has several limitations. For example, it is not known how stable drug molecules left on the surface of smartphones are, although the reliability of the results depends on it. In addition, the devices may have been in the hands of several people, which means that it cannot be ruled out that the traces of drugs on them - from third parties.
However, the authors reminded that the experiment was only a proof of concept. In the future, they plan new studies to refine the methodology, taking into account these and other shortcomings.