Detecting "date rape" drugs
Date rape drug refers to a drug that can be used to assist in the commission of a sexual assault, such as date rape (Wikipedia). detection of traces of date rape drugs in drinks is very important in criminalistics and forensic analysis. One of the most common such drugs is GHB – gamma-Hydroxybutyrate. The classical test for detecting GHB is Smith’s test. This test is known for long time, but publicly available information on its chemistry and application scope (meaning: in which drinks can GHB be detected) is surprisingly scarce. Master’s student Gea Ovsjannikov has taken this test under close scrutiny. She has established the criteria of applicability and has validated the test for a large number of different drinks. Based on the results of her work she will defend her master’s thesis on June 2.