The process: How drugs are detected

Hair testing is the process in which hair specimens are analysed for illegal drugs. As hair growth is fed by the bloodstream, the ingestion of drugs of abuse is revealed by analysing a small sample of hair. The method used measures the drug molecules which are embedded indefinitely inside the hairshaft.

When a drug enters the blood stream, it is broken down to a specific metabolite. One commonly used process is that hair samples are subjected to an initial screening process whereby both the parent drug and the metabolite are isolated. If the sample screens positive, a gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) confirmation test is performed.

Another common process involves hair samples subjected to high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry- mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) analysis. HPLC/MS/MS analysis enables laboratories to simultaneously detect the presence of illicit drugs and their various metabolites to a very high level of confirmation.

Who can use this service?

Legal Sector

Hair drug tests have been regularly used by the UK legal sector for legal disputes and child care proceeding cases. Tests are usually requested by solicitors or social services, but may also be ordered by the courts directly. The admissibility of the tests is dependent upon strict sample collection protocols administered by Trimega Laboratories' trained sample collectors.

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Corporate Sector

The need to use hair drug testing within the corporate sector has dramatically increased over the last few years, used by various industries such as forensics, maritime, insurance, medical and rail. Increasingly, corporates believe there is a need to regulate their own industry by monitoring employees and ensuring that professionalism within their industry is maintained.

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