drinks spiking! how about straws?

[Saretta99]

Hi everyone, I am developing a project to raise awareness about drink spiking. I was thinking what if we could create sone sort of straws that turns on another colour when the drink is being spiked? Currently is completely hypothetical, but I would like to understand if concretely is possible. If so, would be best to have the straws with lines (which would change colour) or any design could be applied?(like stars, or typography). As well which colour would be actually doable?

 

thank you for your help Sara
 

[exchemist]

14 minutes ago, Saretta99 said:

Hi everyone, I am developing a project to raise awareness about drink spiking. I was thinking what if we could create sone sort of straws that turns on another colour when the drink is being spiked? Currently is completely hypothetical, but I would like to understand if concretely is possible. If so, would be best to have the straws with lines (which would change colour) or any design could be applied?(like stars, or typography). As well which colour would be actually doable?

 

thank you for your help Sara
 

It sounds like a great idea in principle. I imagine the main problem is the range of drugs that could be used for spiking. You would need something that reacts with each one to produce a colour change. Possibly some kind of immuno assay method could be developed. However this will not be simple.  

Edited February 9, 2022 by exchemist

[Saretta99]

There are already commercialised tests that detects the most frequent ones, i guess we would use the same substances.. as a Designer what Im interested about is the design and the colour of them

 

[exchemist]

7 minutes ago, Saretta99 said:

There are already commercialised tests that detects the most frequent ones, i guess we would use the same substances.. as a Designer what Im interested about is the design and the colour of them

 

So there are. I didn't realise (not having young daughters). But if it's just design issues, where does chemistry come in? 

[Saretta99]

I need to understand  what's actually doable.. I would go crazy with designs if i could, but I still need to present them in a realistic way. The substances will react and create a certain colour, can this be displayed on different shapes or does it need to be a stripe?

[Genady]

Should the detection be visible to all or just for eyes of the person with a drink?

[Saretta99]

just the person who drinks it.

[Genady]

Then it should be something inconspicuous, like little letters that say 'fun' if the drink is ok and changes to 'run' otherwise. ?

[StringJunky]

Rohypnol (or Roofie) and Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), I think would be  the main ones to have in situ  tests for, as they are commonly used as date rape drugs and victims don't remember anything afterwards.

Did a quick search and detection straws are a thing, but still perhaps still under regulatory scrutiny. More info in link.

Quote

#4 THE RACE FOR SMART STRAWS
DrinkSavvy is not the only one trying to bring a smart date rape drug detection straw to market. Three students at Gulliver Preparatory School in Pinecrest, Fla., invented Smart Straws that turn blue in the presence of the most common date rape drugs. Dubbed the Straw Ladies, they won first place in the 2017 Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge High School Track and are seeking patent protection.

But they may also have competition from a third team. An Israeli doctor and a chemist at Tel Aviv University developed a color-changing stick they debuted at a nano conference in 2011, according to Science Daily. The pocket-size device detected GHB and ketamine in ten microliter samples to 100 percent accuracy during a live demo of 50 drinks, some spiked. At the time, the team was working on expanding the technology to detect other date rape drugs.

The non-toxic medium works with an optical sensor, not active reagents. The device would be reusable and light up or beep, but there is no company website or further information on when and if the device will ever be produced. In 2012, the team indicated their Smart Straw invention needed funding.

https://www.gov1.com/preventing-sexual-assault-and-intimate-partner-violence/articles/5-gadgets-that-alert-drinkers-to-date-rape-drugs-n2AXeJb4rn45lMFG/

I also found something called Sabre Drink Test for GHB and Ketamine  that might be worth looking into.

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by StringJunky

[Saretta99]

Thanks to everyone! really helpful!

[zapatos]

Perhaps you could surround the straw with a round disk that fits neatly on top of the drink. That is actually doable and should greatly reduce the opportunity for people to spike drinks.

[iNow]

Assuming for a moment the straws exist to do this, to make this operational one would need to consider how to get bars and related establishments to use them, and who could help offset the cost of changing materials. Would they be eligible for financial assistance from a centralized fund or government?

Margins are often very tight in restaurants and they often cut costs wherever they can and I imagine a cool chemistry straw like this would be more expensive than the standard straws which are purchased by the thousand... and which many bars stopped using entirely again due to cost reduction efforts.

I am supportive, though. Like the idea a lot, hence my focus on addressing possible gaps in making it a widespread easily accessible reality. 

[Genady]

The use of single-use plastic straws is increasingly banned. One of the common alternatives is paper straws. Would the chemistry work with the alternatives? Maybe it would work better?

[CharonY]

I think an easier, cheaper, but less inconspicuous method would be paper-based immunosorbent assays. It is possible to basically dry down a colorimetric assay in various size and shapes and it would likely not be less accurate than any straw-based design.

A further advantage is that it won't come in direct contact with the drink, so risk of consumption and toxicity is also less of an issue. I would not be surprised if there are already products out there, actually. However, one would need to transfer some liquid from the drink onto it, which might not be easy to do without anyone noticing. A challenge with these assays (and likely more so for straw-based design) is that often there is a compromise with regard to sensitivity and accuracy, but in a pinch they would be better than nothing in either case.

Edit: I was told that there is already something on the market like that:

https://www.drinksafe.com/