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Issue Of False Amphetamine Field Test Positives Caused By Sugar. Use Of Baeyer Test As A Secondary Test Solution., Reed A. Knutson, Jennah Duncan, Kara Peightal, Samuel Thomas
Issue Of False Amphetamine Field Test Positives Caused By Sugar. Use Of Baeyer Test As A Secondary Test Solution., Reed A. Knutson, Jennah Duncan, Kara Peightal, Samuel Thomas
Department of Chemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
The Marquis reagent is a well-established and widely used chemical presumptive test for 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and methamphetamine. It is composed of concentrated sulfuric acid and 40% formaldehyde, which act upon alkaloids causing them to complex into larger molecules. This complexation causes a color change that can be visually interpreted as a positive or negative result. Almost any sugar molecule can be complexed in this way as well, due to their many OH groups. Experimentally it was found that the sugar molecules did complex with one another when the Marquis test was administered. The color produced by this reaction was brownish-red. …