Presumptive color tests for drugs have been used in the forensics community without much modification for several decades.  Many of the reagents used to perform these tests are relatively hazardous and few advancements have been made in an effort to make them safer for those working with them and less damaging to the environment.  This research investigates two color tests in particular, the Ferric Chloride test, which detects the presence of phenols, and the Dille-Koppanyi test, which detects barbiturates, barbituric acid derivatives, and ampicillin.  For this study, substitutions were made to the standard reagents to improve their safety profile, and performance evaluations conducted using the same samples that returned a positive result when reacted with the standard reagents (e.g., phenols for ferric chloride and barbiturates for Dille-Koppanyi).  Manganese (II) bromide tetrahydrate was used, in place of the standard ferric chloride hexahydrate.  For the Dille-Koppanyi reagent, rhodium (II) acetate dimer was used, rather than the standard cobalt (II) acetate tetrahydrate.  This research aims to determine whether or not these substitutions are an improvement regarding safety and environmental impact while still meeting their respective performance objectives.

Development of greener reagents to use in presumptive spot tests for drugs

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