• Universitat de València

γ-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) is one of the drugs used in chemical submission. It is an odourless, colourless, slightly salty compound that is sometimes used for recreational purposes. However, this compound, given without the victim's knowledge, has been used on numerous occasions for the purpose of committing a crime, often a sexual assault, as it overrides the victim's will. It remains in the body for 3 to 6 hours and its metabolites are excreted quickly, so it is very difficult to detect its presence after the aggression.

Until now, the techniques with colorimetric sensors to detect GHB in drinks described in the literature had several drawbacks, mainly that a high concentration of GHB in the drink is required to be detected.

Researchers from the MODeLiC group at the Universitat de València have developed chemosensors to detect GHB in alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and combinations of both. These types of sensors are excellent alternatives to classical analytical detection methods due to their chemical simplicity, their ease of use and their adequate and rapid response in real time and in-situ.

In the presence of GHB, the compounds developed react positively with GHB, resulting in a colour change (from pale yellow to orange or red depending on the sensor used) or a pronounced increase in fluorescence emission.

From the compounds, a reliable and easy-to-use kit is obtained that allows a visual determination of whether a beverage, whether alcoholic, non-alcoholic or mixed, has been contaminated with GHB prior to ingestion. The kit consists of two small, transparent, open and closeable tubes plus a pair of droppers. In addition, the kit is accompanied by the corresponding instructions as well as a colour scale for visual readability.

The main application of the technology is in the health and safety sector.

The main advantages provided by the invention are:

• The set-up kit needs only a drop of the beverage to perform the analysis.
• It is easy to carry and use.
• It has a high sensitivity with a lower detection limit than the previously described techniques.
• The device is environmentally friendly as it is made of environmentally friendly compounds and materials.

• Patent applied