Claims
- 1. A device to detect an organic drug in saliva or from a surface swab comprising:
(a) at least one ion selective electrode to detect an organic drug in saliva or a surface wipe being comprised of
(i) a reference electrode; and (ii) a sensing electrode with a semi-permeable ion selective membrane comprising a hydrophobic polymer, a plasticizer, and an ionophore selective for the organic drug to be tested; and wherein there is electrical contact between the reference electrode and the sensing electrode; and (b) a converter connected to the ion selective electrode to convert a voltage reading from the ion selective electrode to a quantitative drug concentration level.
- 2. The device of claim I wherein an array of ion selective electrodes is used to detect and quantitate a plurality of organic drugs.
- 3. The device of claim I wherein said reference electrode is a cast membrane electrode.
- 4. The device of claim 3 wherein said cast membrane reference electrode is made by the method of:
(a) casting an ionophoric membrane over a hole; (b) filling the interior of the hole with a salt solution; (c) placing a wire into the solution; and (d) sealing the hole.
- 5. The device of claim 3 wherein said cast membrane reference electrode has a membrane comprising of a hydrophilic polymer and a hydrophobic polymer.
- 6. The device of claim 5 wherein said hydrophobic polymer in the reference electrode membrane is polyvinyl chloride and said hydrophobic polymer is polyethylene glycol.
- 7. The device of claim 1 wherein said organic drug is cocaine.
- 8. The device of claim 7 wherein said ionophore is selected from the group consisting of cocaine cobalt isothiocyanate, cocaine chromium isothiocyanate, cocaine tetraphenyl borate, cocaine dinonylnaphthalene disulfonic acid, and cocaine dinonylnaphthalene sulfonic acid.
- 9. The device of claim 7 wherein said ion selective membrane additionally comprises large hydrophobic anions.
- 10. The device of claim 7 wherein said ion selective membrane additionally comprises trioctyl phosphine oxide or a borate salt selected from the group consisting of tetrakis (4-chlorophenyl) borate; tetrakis [3.5-bis(1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-methoxy-2-propyl) phenyl] borate; tetrakis [3.5-bis-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl] borate, tetraphenyl borate, tetrakis [3.5-bis(trifluoromethyl) phenyl] borate, and mixtures thereof.
- 11. The device of claim 1 wherein said hydrophobic polymer is selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl chloride, poly (vinylidene chloride-co-acrylonitrile), poly (vinylidene fluoride), and mixtures thereof.
- 12. The device of claim I wherein said plasticizer is selected from the group consisting of bis (2-ethylhexyl) sebacate, octyl [2-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl] ether, chloroparaffin, Santovac 5, bis (2-ethylhexyl) maleate, tris (2-ethylhexyl) trimellitate, 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether, bis (2-ethylhexyl) hydrogen phosphate, dioctyl phthalate, and mixtures thereof.
- 13. The device of claim 1 further comprising an indicator for said electrical contact.
- 14. The device of claim 1 wherein the electrical contact between the sensing electrode and the reference electrode is tested by the method of:
(a) injecting a voltage pulse into the reference electrode; and (b) determining if there is a corresponding voltage pulse in the sensing electrode.
- 15. A method for detecting an organic drug in saliva or from a surface swab comprising the steps of:
(a) placing the ion selective electrode of claim 1 in a person's mouth, taking saliva from a person's mouth and placing the saliva on the ion selective electrode of claim 1, squeezing a damp surface swab onto the ion selective electrode of claim 1 after wiping a surface, or wiping a surface after wrapping a damp surface swab around the ion selective electrode of claim 1;(b) ensuring that the ion selective electrode has electrical contact; and (c) converting a voltage reading from the ion selective electrode to a quantitative drug concentration level.
- 16. The method of claim 15 wherein an array of said ion selective electrodes is used to detect a plurality of organic drugs.
- 17. The method of claim 15 wherein said reference membrane is a cast membrane electrode comprising a hydrophilic polymer and a hydrophobic polymer.
- 18. The method of claim 17 wherein said hydrophobic polymer in the reference electrode membrane is polyvinyl chloride and said hydrophobic polymer is polyethylene glycol.
- 19. The method of claim 15 wherein the organic drug to be detected is cocaine.
- 20. The method of claim 19 wherein said ionophore is selected from the group consisting of cocaine cobalt isothiocyanate, cocaine chromium isothiocyanate, cocaine tetraphenyl borate, cocaine dinonylnaphthalene disulfonic acid, and cocaine dinonylnaphthalene sulfonic acid.
- 21. The method of claim 19 wherein said ion selective membrane additionally comprises large hydrophobic anions.
- 22. The method of claim 19 wherein said ion selective membrane additionally comprises trioctyl phosphine oxide or a borate salt selected from the group consisting of potassium tetrakis (4-chlorophenyl) borate; tetrakis [3.5-bis(1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-methoxy-2-propyl) phenyl] borate; tetrakis [3.5-bis-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl] borate, tetraphenyl borate, tetrakis [3.5-bis(trifluoromethyl) phenyl] borate, and mixtures thereof.
- 23. The method of claim 15 wherein said plasticizer is selected from the group consisting of bis (2-ethylhexyl) sebacate, octyl [2-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl] ether, chloroparaffin, Santovac 5, bis (2-ethylhexyl) maleate, tris (2-ethylhexyl) trimellitate, 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether, bis (2-ethylhexyl) hydrogen phosphate, dioctyl phthalate, and mixtures thereof.
- 24. The method of claim 15 wherein said electrical contact is tested by the method of:
(a) injecting a voltage pulse into the reference electrode; and (b) determining if there is a corresponding voltage pulse in the sensing electrode.
- 25. The method of claim 15 wherein said reference electrode is a cast membrane electrode made by the method of:
(a) casting an ionophoric membrane over a hole; (b) filling the interior of the hole with a salt solution; (c) placing a wire into the solution; and (d) sealing the hole.
- 26. A method for testing electrical contact in an ion selective electrode comprising the steps of:
(a) injecting a voltage pulse into a reference electrode; and (b) determining if there is a corresponding voltage pulse in a sensing electrode.
- 27. A method of making a cast membrane reference electrode comprising the steps of:
(a) casting an ionophoric membrane over a hole; (b) filling the interior of the hole with a salt solution; (c) placing a wire into the solution; and (d) sealing the hole.
- 28. The method of claim 27 wherein said ionophoric membrane is comprised of a hydrophilic polymer and a hydrophobic polymer.
PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/328,423 filed Oct. 12, 2001, entiled “Ion selective electrodes for direct organic drug analysis in saliva, sweat, and surface wipes” (attorney docket number 83,326).
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60328423 |
Oct 2001 |
US |