new, very sensitive test for psilosin

[wumpsdad]

I think this is the wrong forum buttt I know it will be well seen here:

Australian scientists have come up with a new, very sensitive test for psilosin:

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8678

or if you prefer:


Magic mushrooms given away by a glow

17:33 03 February 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Emma Young



The “magic” components of hallucinogenic mushrooms can be made to glow in the dark by a new detection test developed by Australian scientists.
It detects psilocybin or psilocin – the psychoactive components of magic mushrooms. It is between two and three orders of magnitude more sensitive than the standard UV detection method currently used, its creators say.
Nicole Anastos at Deakin University in Geelong, Australia, studied Psilocybe subaeruginosa, a species of magic mushroom commonly found in Australia and New Zealand.
Anastos soaked mushroom samples in methanol to extract the alkaloid (nitrogen-containing) components. Next she used chromatography to separate out these various components, and added potassium permanganate and ruthenium. If a mushroom contains the hallucinogenic components – psilocybin and psilocin – they will react with these two compounds to release light.
Urine sample
Magic mushrooms contain relatively high levels of psilocybin, and some also contain trace levels of psilocin – which is responsible for the hallucinogenic effects in people. After being eaten, psilocybin is metabolised into psilocin.
But, after psilocybin is broken down in the body, the resulting psilocin degrades rapidly, says Anastos. “The levels found in urine are so low you need a sensitive method to detect it,” she says.
Because the new test is so sensitive, it should be able to pick up levels of psilocin in urine that would slip beneath the radar of conventional tests.
The new test can pick up levels of psilocin as low as 1.2 x 10-8 moles per litre, compared with 4 x 10-6 for UV detection.
Journal reference: Journal of Forensic Science (vol 51, p 45)

[xxanxx]

Im suprised no one came up with this idea a long time ago; that's some of the more rudimentary org. chemistry I've seen. PubMed has a lot of info on the subject.

Cheers

[Plutonium]

Australians also made a handgun that wont fire off unless you were the special sensor ring

[slp]

I was wondering, "Did you just read about that in #11 "TEONANACATL", The International Journal of Psychoactive Mushrooms (TEO), February 2005? It was a year ago we broght that new method of detection to attention. The said article was placed in #11 TEO by Mr. John Allen, one of the Editors of TEO.
I thought it was very strange that Nicole developed this technique so that she could improve the "detection" of Psilocin at crime scenes. Have I been missing something here? Has there been a wave of crime terror by people on mushrooms? Or, are criminals now leaving mushrooms or traces of Psilocin at the scene of their crimes? Doesn't anyone else scratch their head at this one?
The current TEO Issue can be inspected free. The new #15 TEO, FEB 2006 Issue will be going up in a few more days.
I will post the direct link to TEO in my next post.
slp/fmrc

[Hippie3]

great, a new more sensitive drug test.

the only piss test they'll ever get from me
is a taste test.

[slp]

wumpsdad.......kidding about the Just Read TEO thing....without your post I am sure there would be a lot of people who still don't know about this new tek.
Still just wondering the importance of being able to detect Psilocin at crime scenes???? I guess wumpsdad or Mr. Hippie will have to clear this up for me....
curious........
Here is the link to "TEONANACATL", The International Journal of Psychoactive Mushrooms (TEO).................slp/fmrc
http://www.mushroomsfmrc.com/teo_journal.html

[Hippie3]

maybe some guy, freaked out on shrooms,
pissed his pants then killed himself or went on a rampage
dripping as he went ?
i dunno...

[shedthemonkey]

if its easy and cheap, i sure hope it doesn't become a standard test for like employment screening and such...but I spose if you are tripping within 2 days of a job interview piss test, there are other issues too.

[xxanxx]

Considering the half-life of the actives, urine tests wouldn't really be very effective. The avg. user could be "clean" within 48 hours of last use.

[Fester Addams]

I'm not gonna hedge bets on how 'clean' a person is after x number of days. If they use this in a widespread setting, we'll find out eventually. Just: yikes.

As for the WHY, it's the same as any other science: something for scientists to do with grant money.

[Hippie3]

that 48 hr window
was based on the old test's sensitivity,
persumably this new test would extend
that a bit longer
since it can detect lower levels.

[wumpsdad]

yep. read it at new scientist web site.

suer beats the heck out of me why it would be needed. perhaps after MVAs to test a driver. I can't see the point of it being standard test.
...And thats a good point Hippie about the 48 hour window being based on thye old test. My highly guesswork opinion is that the traces decrease by half life, so if this new test is " between two and three orders of magnitude more sensitive", then it will take... ummmmm..... anyone do the math? a couple more days i suppose. what's the formala for half life?

[Hippie3]

an order of magnitude is 10x as sensitive
so if this is 2-3 orders of magnitude more sensitive
that would change the 2 day 'window'
to a 40-60 day 'window' for detection.