An experimental kind of temporary tattoo can near-instantly test beverages for the presence of unwanted drugs, a new study has found.

Published Wednesday by the American Chemical Society (ACS), the study from Korean researchers developed a multicoloured temporary tattoo that reacts to the presence of GHB, a compound described as “commonly associated with drug-facilitated sexual assault.”

According to the study, the chemicals in the tattoo can detect concentrations of GHB in beer, liquor or coffee, changing colour from yellow to red in order to alert the wearer that their beverage may have been spiked.

“In practice, a wearer could dip a finger into a beverage, touch the drop to the sticker and see the result almost immediately,” the release reads.

The newly developed tattoos not only allow the users to test their drinks discreetly, but also act far faster than some older tests, delivering results in less than a second, rather than minutes.

Researchers also say the results last for up to a month, which can help preserve evidence of suspected tampering.

Also direct link to ACS

https://www.acs.org/pressroom/presspacs/2025/july/this-temporary-tattoo-could-detect-an-unwanted-drug-in-your-drink.html

  • solrize@lemmy.mlEnglish
    39·
    3 days ago

    Ha, this was invented by a fanfiction character years ago, except it was nail polish instead of a temporary tattoo. https://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-30822-90 :

    Hermione volunteered that there were chemicals which could detect the presence of most of the ‘date rape’ drugs, but Pansy scoffed, “Oh, and we just carry a dozen bottles of liquids in our purse and perform complicated tests on every drink we every get?”

    That was a really good point. Hermione found her lips were pursing up as she thought it over. “I think… I could come up with a chemical you could put in a nail polish that would change the colour of your polish if exposed to benzodiazepines. So all you’d have to do would be to swirl your drink around with the tip of your index finger and then casually glance over to see if your nail polish was changing colour.”

    That was met with a second of dead silence… And then the room exploded and everyone including Pet was begging her for a sample. Even Lady Pansy. Perhaps Hermione wasn’t going to the right clubs – or in this case the wrong clubs – but she hadn’t dreamed there would be that kind of demand for such a thing.

    Granted, Hermione didn’t go out at night to any clubs, not even with her friends back home.

    She actually makes the stuff later in the story.