ChickSpeak

With the guidance of a Chemistry professor at Doane College in the mid-west, three students teamed up to create a secret weapon against date rape and sexual assault. They set out to develop a tiny testing kit that women can carry in their purses or pockets to quickly detect date-rape drugs in their drinks.

Andrea Holmes, who teaches at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska, leads the research project. “This seemed to be a really, really relevant topic. I had no idea how bad the problem was until we began this study. So many women on college campuses are being affected by this,” said Holmes, “and we knew something had to be done to stop this.” Holmes and her team took action.

Date-rape drugs, or “roofies”, such as Rohypnol, are often slipped into a person’s drink at parties or bars. The drug incapacitates the person and causes memory loss. The drug has also been linked to severe physical side effects such as vertigo, skin rashes, gastrointestional and respiratory problems. Victims who have been raped while under its influence often have little or no memory of the assault. Common symptoms include dizziness, drowsiness, hot or cold flashes, difficulty speaking and slowed motor skills. Some effects can be felt as quickly as within five minutes of ingestion.
Rohypnol and other date-rape drugs may no longer be detectable by the time a victim is treated and tested. “The nature of these drugs is that they are able to leave the body quickly, in some cases in less than 4-6 hours,” Holmes remarked.
“Many women do get raped and cannot prove it afterwards,” Holmes said. “What we want to do is determine the presence of the drug before it ever enters the body.”
She’s hoping to develop a small strip or stick that would turn a certain color if dipped into a drink that had been spiked.

In May, she and the student researchers reached a milestone: They concocted a chemical mixture that turns from blue to colorless when Rohypnol is added.
“This took us weeks and weeks,” Holmes said. “Research is usually 99% failure. This was a breakthrough.”
When asked how the team responded to this success, Holmes commented, “We didn’t believe it. We thought it was a mistake, but then we tried it again and again and it kept working. We were shocked and thrilled.”

Up to this point, the team’s research has been funded by a small grant, and in order to continue this work, they will need additional funding.
Dr. Holmes is applying for a $20,000 National Science Foundation grant to continue her research, hoping to include GHB, methamphetamine and other “party drugs” that have been used by date rapists. She and her research team are committed to creating a reliable tester for consumers.

Since the team’s break through in May, they continue to make strides towards an effective sensor. Besides gaining national recognition through media outlets, the students who conducted the research have been named as finalists in the National Collegiate Inventors Competition held in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Building in Virginia. The team was awarded a $1,000.00 prize for continued research and shared the stage with 10 of the nations most innovative and impressive student inventors.