The Daily Bulletin

Please join the Chemistry Department for the seminar "Development and Improvement of Cocaine Identification from Complex Powders using Voltammetric Analysis," presented by Daniel Weglarski, a graduate forensic science student, on Thursday, October 13, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Mathematics Complex 151.

Abstract
Cocaine is one of the most commonly abused illicit drugs in the world, with an ever-growing market in the last couple of decades. The drug is highly regulated worldwide and illegal in many places because its production, trafficking, and distribution are positively correlated to the crime rate, and because of its overall negative health effects. Currently, the usual methodologies for identifying cocaine fall into a colorimetric test—normally the Scott’s test—and complex analytical techniques centered on chromatography and mass spectrometry. Because of the unreliable specificity that colorimetric tests provide, as well as the needed trained personnel for sophisticated analytical techniques, a more reliable and easy-to-use method needs to be introduced to close this gap. This presentation will introduce two new identification methods for detecting cocaine in mixed powder samples using voltammetric analysis: first, a method using square wave voltammetry (SWV) to correct for the poor specificity in Scott’s test on a graphite screen printed electrode (GSPE); and second, a method using anodic sweep voltammetry (ASV) that can identify cocaine in mixed powders using reagentless conditions on a glassy carbon electrode. This talk will conclude with a summary of the proposed techniques with future research and how they may be applied to current forensic techniques.