Carbon Nanotubes Detecting Presence of Heroin in Human Body

Carbon nanotubes have charge carriers confined to the nanotube surface, meaning their electrical properties are highly sensitive to changes in their nearby environment. This property has been exploited in recent years to build devices sensitive to gases, proteins, DNA and other substances.

Nanotubes could now help to detect the illegal narcotic heroin in the human body thanks to work by Ju Nie Tey at A*STAR's Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology and co-workers.

When heroin enters the human body, it is metabolized into 6-monoacetylmorphine (MAM), then morphine, then morphine glucuronide. A simple, cheap method of detecting these compounds in a living person would be useful for purposes of law enforcement and medical treatments.

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