United States Army researchers have found that a bio-nanomaterial can help solve a public health issue involving people showing up in emergency rooms with dangerous reactions to marijuana substitutes sold at gas stations and head shops, according to DOD Live.
The Army researchers came up with an optoelectronic sensing system. It uses both light and electricity to detect an entire class of synthetic marijuana compounds that have an affinity for cannabinoid receptions in the human brain. The key to the sensing system involves nanocrystals called quantum dots and bacteriorhodopsin, which some forms of bacteria us to convert light into energy.
When a target material binds with a sensor, a change in electrical output is induced.
"Although this bio-nano sensing platform wasn't developed with drug sensing in mind, this program leverages our bio-nano sensor expertise towards a specific drug testing problem. The fact that our sensor platform has the potential to be small, lightweight, user-friendly, and fieldable in addition to being generic enough to be tailored towards synthetic cannabinoid detections made it a unique fit to fill this specific drug detection need," noted Dr. Mark Griep, principal researcher on the project.
Synthetic marijuana overdoses have proved fatal in in some cases. First-line treatment for these drugs often includes administration of a benzodiazepine or another sedative. However, the many different types of synthetic marijuana can make toxicology testing a significant challenge.
Michael Sellers, PhD is one of the primary researchers at the Army Research Laboratory working on computational simulation support.
In most of the United States, possession of marijuana is considered a misdemeanor. Because of this, a significant number of adults and teenagers have turned to synthetic marijuana blends. These blends can often be found at gas stations and head shops. While manufacturers of these products rarely disclose the active ingredients in synthetic smoking blends, a number of users have experienced severe side effects following ingestion of synthetic blends.
Over the past few decades, researchers have created hundreds of chemicals that can trigger the cannabinoid receptors in the human brain. While some forms of synthetic marijuana can trigger the same euphoric mental effects as natural marijuana, they often carry a significant number of risks.
Synthetic marijuana products often include chemicals like HU-210, JWH-073, JWH-018, and cannabicyclohexanol. While many of these chemicals were made illegal, clandestine chemists can adjust the molecular structure of synthetic marijuana, allowing new varieties to circumvent existing laws. Some strains of synthetic marijuana have been associated with an increased risk of heart attacks, kidney damage, high blood pressure, vomiting and other symptoms. Long-term use of some synthetic marijuana strains has been associated with psychosis and addiction.
