UP research lab acquires drug detection machine that uses hair analysis

The University of the Philippines Manila research laboratory has acquired a P30 million machine that can detect drug or substance intake within the past month through hair analysis.

According to Martin Javier's Game Changer report on 24 Oras on Friday, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) funded the upgrade of the university’s Drugs of Abuse Research Laboratory, equipping it with cutting-edge technology to advance the detection of drugs of abuse and psychoactive substances.

The new apparatus, known as a Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry machine, enables researchers to detect substance intake through hair strand analysis.

This advanced technology is particularly useful in identifying designer drugs and new psychoactive substances that are difficult to trace using traditional methods.

“Meron nang mga nadagdag, ang tawag nila minsan designer drugs, new psychoactive substances. Hindi na siya kaya ng usual na equipment. While the gold standard equipment is still really good in detection, we need better machines, newer equipment so that we are able to detect,” said UP Manila Laboratory Manager Joanna Toralba.

(There are substances, often referred to as designer drugs or new psychoactive substances, that cannot be detected by conventional equipment. While the gold standard equipment is still effective, we need newer machines to improve detection capabilities.)

Toralba explained that certain compounds tend to remain in hair indefinitely, making hair analysis an effective tool for long-term detection.

“May certain compounds na mas may tendency na maiwan sa hair, so pag naiwan na siya sa hair halos forever na yan. Ngayon pag kumuha na kami ng sample, hindi naman kami bubunot lang. Gugupitin. Yung pinaka dikit sa scalp, yun yung kukuning information. 1-centimeter per month ang growth [ng hair]… Kung saan may buhok, pwedeng kuhanan,” she added.

(Certain compounds tend to get left behind in our hair, so it would last almost forever. If we take a sample, we don’t just pluck it out. We cut a section of hair close to the scalp for sampling since hair grows about one centimeter per month. Wherever there’s hair, we can collect a sample.)

The state-of-the-art machine can simultaneously detect up to 1,300 compounds. Once hair samples are cleaned, powdered, and extracted into liquid form, the machine analyzes the compounds with high precision.

The data generated can be applied in various fields, including emergency medical care, rehabilitation, and forensic investigations.

“Hindi lang siya for illegal substances. Even yung pharmaceuticals na natake mo, pwede niyang makita,” said Toralba.

(This technology doesn’t just detect illegal substances—it can also identify pharmaceutical drugs a person has taken.) — DVM, GMA Integrated News