As legalized medical and recreational marijuana usage becomes more and more widespread, the risk of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) intoxication in drivers rises. The standard for measuring and quantifying THC in body fluids is liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, which involves a large benchtop instrument and high-powered electronics, making it useless for roadside use. Other roadside testing devices measure THC in saliva and sweat, which yield high rates of false positives due to recent marijuana use in the past. With no roadside methods of quantifiably measuring marijuana intoxication, there are no means of holding intoxicated drivers accountable.
Description
Pitt researchers have developed a novel tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) sensor using single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) to quantify THC dissolved in ethanol or in a dried state. The sensor can be implemented in a handheld breathalyzer to quantifiably measure THC in someone who is under the influence of marijuana. Compared to competing THC breathalyzer technologies, which are expensive or involve complicated multistep processes, this sensor boasts high sensitivity, low power consumption, and low fabrication costs.
Applications
Handheld breathalyzers for THC
Advantages
• Lightweight and portable for handheld, roadside use
• High sensitivity
• Measures THC in breath, avoiding the high false positive rate associated with testing sweat or saliva
• Requires little power
• Low fabrication costs
Invention Readiness
Concept
IP Status
https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2018200794A1
