The evaluation of keratin materials obtained from the distal portion of digits to detect the presence of medicine or their metabolites constitutes a selected type of substance abuse screening. This system offers a historic report of drug ingestion over a interval extending a number of months. For instance, a optimistic end result from any such assay signifies drug publicity inside the previous 3 to six months, contingent on the speed of nail development.
This testing modality affords a number of benefits over conventional strategies like urine or hair evaluation. Notably, specimen assortment is non-invasive and will be simply noticed, lowering the opportunity of adulteration or substitution. Moreover, the prolonged detection window offers a extra complete view of a person’s drug use historical past, doubtlessly revealing patterns of abuse that is likely to be missed by shorter-term detection strategies. Its improvement and utility have supplied forensic science with a longer-term various to urinalysis and a much less invasive possibility in comparison with hair follicle testing.
