Smoke signals
A smart new technique from Oxford University spin-out tests users' saliva to detect cannabis
The development of a quick and simple electrochemical test that can detect whether someone has been smoking cannabis has led to the spin-out of a dedicated drug-testing technology company from
.
OxTox has been set up to commercialise the technology that was developed by researchers in the university's chemistry department. According to Terry Pollard, the spin-out's project manager, the technology's unique method of detection will make it quicker and cheaper than any existing drug-testing technologies.
Pollard works for
, the university's technology transfer programme, which is helping OxTox move towards commercialisation of the system. 'Many existing devices work like pregnancy tests, with a solution that flows through a material and then you have to wait for it to change colour,' said Pollard. 'With this, because you are looking for a reaction just on the very surface of the electrode, all you need is some saliva and it will give you a result very quickly indeed.'
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