A team of South Korean researchers have developed a small tattoo that can soothe people’s nerves eager to go to bars and nightclubs.
Surface, It looks like a skin sticker whatever you can catch at a party or amusement park, but, hidden in the colorful paint, is a Powerful chemical sensor able to detect one of the most famous violation drugs – in less than a second.
According to, the sensor detects the compound γ-hydroxybutrate, or GHB. Without flavor, without color and almost impossible to detect without special tools, the GHB became famous as a Drug used to facilitate sexual aggression.
A few drops placed in a drink may make a confused, disoriented or unconscious person, often without remembering what happened.
“ responds, in the space of a second, Even at low concentrations of the γ-hydroxybutrate drug (GHB), ”said the investigation team at.
A single drop of a contaminated drink played in the “false tattoo” makes a chemical receiver incorporated into the self -control change color. The reaction is immediately visible and unmistakable: the drawing, often printed in letters or shapes, tLive red.
ACS Sensors 2025
The system is based on a chemical called 2 (3-bromo-4-hydroxystiril) -3-ethylbenzotiazol-3-mio-or Beiabbreviated.
This molecule reacts specifically with GHB and does it at concentrations as low as 0.01 micrograms per milliliter. This value is lower than the level normally necessary to cause physiological symptoms, constituting a Early potentially critical alert.
Even more impressive is the fact that keep Red warning signal for 30 dayswhat can be Useful for communicating an adulteration or collecting forensic evidence.
Despite its serious consequences, “drink spiking”It is often ignored or posed in question, and remains a common problem.
The drugs used for “spiking“They are difficult to detect, in part because their effects mimic poisoning. Victims may seem simply drunk. However, what really happens is more sinister.” These drugs are colorless and unbeaten, inducing the victim a stupor similar to that of severe alcoholic poisoning, “says the ACS in a press release.
Victims often lose memory and controlwhich makes them vulnerable and unable to consent. The “tattoo” is not based on foreboding, strange tastes or doubts. One Simple finger slide and one Skin They can mean the difference between safety and damage.
The team conceived the Sticker to resist pressure – literally. Still like any commercial tattoo sticker and has been tested against water, risks, stretching and twisting. It remained functional and readable even in wet environments, including on drinks such as whiskey, vodka, beer, soju and coffee.
As it looks like a normal tattoo, available in different shapes and drawings, can be used discreetly – This is a fundamental feature. In many social environments, testing your drink can be stigmatizing or embarrassing.
This sticker makes the act invisible without any social cost. In addition, the Technology is cheap and scalable. The materials used include a thin plane of plastic, a diluted glue solution to adhere to the skin and a agarose gel containing the Bhei sensor. These materials are common in the design of biosensors, which can make the Sincerely accessible to the public.
Thus, this intelligent sensor joins a growing arsenal of tools designed to help people protect themselves against drug aggressions. But both the researchers and the defenders of the cause warn of the fact that Not being a complete solution.
Like all technologies of this type, sticker treats a symptom of a deeper social problem – a problem rooted in violence, coercion, and persistent persecution of vulnerable people. So, the tattoo appears as a tool. A product that can be used, accessible, discreet and fast that can allow people to detect the danger before it attacks.
Teresa Oliveira Campos, Zap //