A new technique using wooden toothpicks to test for illegal drugs has been hailed as simpler, faster and more cost effective by Polytechnic University scientists who pioneered the breakthrough.
Each test provides a result within two minutes - compared to the several hours for conventional drug testing methods.
It is also far cheaper, at about HK$50 per test, than existing methods which costs up to HK$2,000 to analyse one sample.
By applying drops of sample urine or oral fluid to the toothpick, scientists can test for the presence of four of the most common illegal drugs - ketamine, methamphetamine, ecstasy and cocaine.
PolyU said the new technique allows scientists to avoid the need for preliminary screening of samples before they are analysed by a mass spectrometer.
Wooden toothpicks, available from supermarkets at about HK$10 for 600, replace the conventional technique of using capillary action on samples prior to mass spectrometry.
The toothpicks can also reduce interference from other substances and do not risk producing false positive or false negative results which can be problem with conventional test kits.
