Metabolites of drugs of abuse can be detected in fingerprints using mass spectrometry technology, according to a small study published May 1 in The Analyst. Both fingerprints and oral fluid were analyzed from five patients attending a drug and alcohol treatment service. Oral fluids were tested using chromatography mass spectrometry, while fingerprints were analyzed using Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) with Ion Mobility Tandem Mass Spectrometry Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization (MALDI-IMS-MS/MS) and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS).“Natural” fingerprints were placed onto clean glass slides. The researchers found that both DESI and MALDI were able to detect the cocaine metabolites benzoylecgonine (BZE) and methylecgonine (EME) in latent fingerprints. There was “good” correlation between fingerprint analysis and oral fluid testing, but the authors say that development of a quantitative test with a standard cut-off level is an important next step. SIMS’ sensitivity was “insufficient.” “The ability to detect excreted substances in latent fingerprints proves that surface MS techniques could provide the drug testing industry with an exciting new and complementary tool, potentially allowing differentiation between drug consumption and contact solely based on the presence of metabolites in the residue,” writes lead author Melanie Bailey, Ph.D., from the University of Surrey (United Kingdom). […]