Factors influencing the contamination of UK banknotes with drugs of abuse

Ebejer, Karl A.; Lloyd, Gavin R.; Brereton, Richard G.; Carter, James F.; Sleeman, Richard

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2006.11.004

Cited by 22 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Adherence of cocaine to the banknote can be due to surface contamination and entrapment of drug crystals between fibres of the note [9], while indirect transfer of cocaine is possible through contact with other notes or bank sorting machines [10]. Cocaine trading, using cash, and administration via a rolled up banknote can lead to direct exposure of banknotes to the crystalline drug powder [11]. It is thought that a concentration of cocaine on a note that is beyond that of the general circulation can be associated with drug use or trade and thus provide incriminating evidence [12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A competitive enzyme immunoassay for the quantitative detection of cocaine from banknotes and latent fingermarks

Heide

Calavia

Hardwick

et al. 2015

Forensic Science International

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A sensitive and versatile competitive enzyme immunoassay (cEIA) has been developed for the quantitative detection of cocaine in complex forensic samples. Polyclonal anti-cocaine antibody was purified from serum and deposited onto microtiter plates. The concentration of the cocaine antibody adsorbed onto the plates, and the dilution of the cocaine-HRP hapten were both studied to achieve an optimised immunoassay. The method was successfully used to quantify cocaine in extracts taken from both paper currency and latent fingermarks. presents a simple and cost-effective alternative to the current mass spectrometry based techniques for the quantitation of cocaine at forensically significant concentrations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At present, gas chromatography, liquid chromatography or thermal desorption coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) are most often employed for the detection of cocaine extracted from banknotes [4,5,8,11,21]. Alternative methods include ion-mobility spectrometry [7,22], electrochemiluminescence [23], and Raman microspectroscopy [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A competitive enzyme immunoassay for the quantitative detection of cocaine from banknotes and latent fingermarks

Heide

Calavia

Hardwick

et al. 2015

Forensic Science International

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“…The presence of residues of several drugs of abuse in Euro banknotes has been well documented (6,7). Banknotes are likely to be contaminated when they come in contact with significant quantities of drugs, especially when handled by drug users (10). These contaminated banknotes are then distributed throughout the banking system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Samples, consisting of 120 used Euro banknotes analyzed in this study (30 each of 50‐, 20‐, 10‐, and 5‐€ banknotes), were randomly collected in the main tourist area of the archipelago, Playa de Maspalomas (located south of the Gran Canaria island), from the automated teller machines of four different branches of banks over a 5‐day period in April 2009. Because automated teller machines use banknotes received from regional counting centers, these banknotes are more likely to be representative of the paper currency in the archipelago (10). After collection, the banknotes were placed in plastic storage bags until analysis.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occurrence of Contamination by Controlled Substances in Euro Banknotes from the Spanish Archipelago of the Canary Islands

Luzardo

Almeida

Zumbado

et al. 2011

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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The social problems of drug abuse are a matter of increasing global problem. Nowadays, international agencies need fresh methods to monitor trends of the use of illicit drugs. In this sense, small amounts of drugs are transferred to banknotes and they could be detected and quantified. An analytical procedure based upon extraction with organic solvent, liquid chromatography separation, and mass spectrometric detection allowed the identification of 21 drugs and metabolites in 120 used Euro banknotes collected in the Canary Islands (Spain). Most of the banknotes analyzed showed detectable drug residues (92.5%). Cocaine was the most frequently detected drug, present in approximately 90% of the samples. In addition, 75%, 35%, and 15% of the banknotes showed residues of amphetamine derivatives, opiates, and benzodiazepines, respectively. An average of three drug residues per banknote was detected. In summary, the presence of drug residues in banknotes could be useful as tracer for drugs prevalence.

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“…Whole or partial banknote samples were spiked with 'street' cocaine using the approach described by Ebejer et al. 13 For the partial banknote samples, £5 GBP notes were first cut width-wise into ca. 4 cm wide strips before spiking.…”

Section: Preparation Of Spiked Partial Banknote and Whole Banknote Samentioning

confidence: 99%

Location-specific immunodetection of cocaine on banknotes

Heide

Cunningham

Hardwick

et al. 2016

Analyst

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A novel in-gel bioanalytical immunodetection method has been developed to determine both the presence and the location of cocaine on the surface of banknotes. The cocaine was 'fixed' to the surface of the banknote via a coating of a polyacrylamide gel matrix.Immunostaining of the immobilised cocaine on the banknote surface was performed using an anti-cocaine primary antibody, either pre-labelled with horse radish peroxidase (HRP) or in conjunction with a HRP-labelled secondary antibody. Visualisation of the location of the cocaine was achieved through chemiluminescence imaging of the banknote following application of a chemiluminescent substrate. The novel method was applied to the detection of cocaine on partial and whole banknote samples obtained from general circulation. Newly minted banknotes, with or without spiked cocaine, were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The results obtained, for the first time, demonstrate the successful location-specific immunostaining of cocaine on banknotes. A preliminary analysis of six UK banknotes, obtained from general circulation, suggests that cocaine can be present at variable locations across the whole of the banknote.

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Factors influencing the contamination of UK banknotes with drugs of abuse

Cited by 22 publications

References 12 publications

A competitive enzyme immunoassay for the quantitative detection of cocaine from banknotes and latent fingermarks

A competitive enzyme immunoassay for the quantitative detection of cocaine from banknotes and latent fingermarks

Occurrence of Contamination by Controlled Substances in Euro Banknotes from the Spanish Archipelago of the Canary Islands

Location-specific immunodetection of cocaine on banknotes

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