The first fluorescent sensor for known date rape drug gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) has been developed in Singapore. It emits orange fluorescence in alcoholic drinks containing GBL when irradiated with a green laser.
Gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) is a readily available industrial solvent that is often used as a date rape drug. There are several detection kits that can show if a drink has been spiked with drugs like gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) and ketamine but there are no commercially available sensors to detect GBL.
Now, Young-Tae Chang and his group at the National University of Singapore have developed the first sensor for the detection of GBL. They used a fluorescent dye library…
Read the full article in Chemistry World»
Read the original journal article in ChemComm:
Development of a fluorescent sensor for an illicit date rape drug – GBL
Agrawalla, Pei Sze Fronia Eng, Sung-Chan Lee, Wang Xu and Young-Tae Chang
Chem. Commun., 2013, 49, 6170-6172
DOI: 10.1039/C3CC43153C
