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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2005  > December  >
In the Laboratory
Presumptive and Confirmatory Drug Tests
Craig Anderson
Department of Chemistry, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504
Cover
December 2005
Vol. 82 No. 12
p. 1809
Abstract
Tests for illegal drugs were performed on unknown, white powder substances obtained from over-the-counter cold medicines such as Sudafed and Contac. Both presumptive tests and confirmatory tests were conducted. It was shown that substances that tested positive for the qualitative Marquis color test were found to be false positives for illegal substances such as heroin or methamphetamine when samples were subjected to GC–MS analysis. The samples that contained dextromethorphan hydrobromide or pseudoephedrine hydrochloride were first extracted from the white powders as free base amines. Scopolamine hydrochloride, the identification of which can be confirmed by infrared spectroscopy, shows a false positive for cocaine hydrochloride with the cobalt thiocyanate reagent.
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Instructions for students and notes for the instructor including possible hazards are available.
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*  Citation
 Anderson, Craig. J. Chem. Educ. 2005 82 1809.
*  Keywords
 Acids / Bases; Analytical Chemistry; Drugs / Pharmaceuticals; First-Year Undergraduate / General; Gas Chromatography; Hands-On Learning / Manipulatives; IR Spectroscopy; Laboratory Instruction; Mass Spectrometry; Qualitative Analysis; Second-Year Undergraduate
*  History
 Created:
Last Updated:		 October 25, 2005
November 4, 2005
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