UP unveils new tech that rapidly detects party drugs

The University of the Philippines Drugs of Abuse Research Laboratory (UP DARL) announced a new technology capable of rapidly detecting the latest party drugs.

According to a statement on Tuesday, the device is able to identify the psychoactive substances in real-time to aid both law enforcement in a fight against illegal drugs and medical teams in emergency cases.

The Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole Time-of-flight Mass Spectrometry (LC-QTOF/MS) has the capability of analyzing new designer drugs using hair.

“This is an example of the expertise of the academe at the service of the government. We will be utilizing the expertise of UP Manila in pharmaceutical, toxicology, and chemical sciences to help the government better address the drug problem in the country, taking into consideration a public health and human rights approach to the issue,” said Commission on Higher Education chairperson J. Prospero de Vera.

The UP DARL laboratory will also be able to test biological samples and pharmaceutical products for drug analysis, as well as perform clinical validation of samples taken using the point-of-care (POCT) device for selected new party drugs.

The technology is currently available at the UP Manila College of Pharmacy, made possible through a collaboration with the College of Medicine and the National Poison Management and Control Center, and the University of California San Francisco.

“This new technology will certainly give our law enforcers the upper hand in the fight against the new kinds of recreational drugs proliferating in the market. Providing public information about these party drugs will boost the campaign against illegal drugs including drug misuse and overdose,” said UP-DARL Laboratory Manager Professor Joanna Toralba. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/RF, GMA Integrated News