QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN DRUGS (OPIUM, HASHISH, ECSTASY PILL) BY PIXE AND NAA

Abstract

In investigating drug addiction and its side effects from a social health point of view, the attention is usually focused on the drug itself. Yet trace amounts of other elements may have side effects no less harmful than addiction itself. The knowledge of these elements can be of help in the cure of drug addiction. The purpose of this study is to determine the trace elements in some drugs by methods of nuclear analysis. In this study, the Proton Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) and Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) techniques have been applied to measure the elemental composition and concentration of 55 opium, hashish and ecstasy pill samples. PIXE analysis shows the samples contain various elements including Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Fe, Cu, Zn, Rb and Sr .