Detection of traces of narcotics in saliva by electrochemiluminescence on diamond electrodes

Job description: The consumption of narcotics is becoming a problem for road safety because 23% of road deaths in France occur in an accident involving at least one driver who tested positive. Thus, one objective of road safety in consultation with the concerned ministries (Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Economy) is to improve the fight against road insecurity linked to narcotics consumption. In particular, this involves increasing and facilitating roadside checks using a portable device dedicated to controlling the use of narcotics on the roadside, similar to what is already done for breathalyzer tests. Such a device is not commercially available today. The main prerequisites of this device will be to provide reliable, immediate confirmation results with evidentiary value for the courts as well as a purchase cost compatible with large-scale deployment on French road networks. In this context, the subject of study proposed aims to study the possible detection of traces of narcotics in saliva using electroluminescence on a boron-doped diamond electrode. This method is considered promising for such an application because it potentially allows extremely low detection thresholds to be reached and, in accordance with legislative requirements, offers multiple possibilities aimed at achieving high selectivity towards chemical targets, with a high detection capacity. miniaturization of equipment and a relatively low cost of apparatus compared to analytical tools such as mass spectrometer, IMS, etc.

Your profile: Thèse de doctorat (PhD) dans les domaines de la chimie, chimie analytique