Saliva: An Analytical Tool in Toxicology – a Review

Drug testing has undergone major advances, particularly over the last 10 years. The use of alternative specimens to blood or urine for establishing exposure to drugs has become a significant direction in clinical and forensic toxicology. These alternative specimens include hair, sweat and oral fluid. Oral fluid has been seen as a non-invasive alternative to blood but also as an alternative to urine when substitution or adulteration is suspected. The purpose of drug testing is to determine whether an individual has used any particular substance that might have affected their well-being or behaviour. The most common scenarios where testing is undertaken to detect psychoactive drug use includes workplace drug testing and forensic drug testing (e.g. with drugs and driving). saliva drug tests, an alternative method hold great appeal because their accuracy supposedly cannot be foiled with products sold that help people pass and beat drug tests by masking drug residue in urine, The drug testing industry and government officials claim that saliva drug tests are extremely accurate.

This review outlines the roles and applications of testing for drugs in saliva, describes the relative advantages and disadvantages of this form of testing and also highlights the detailed procedural method for the collection of saliva for testing drugs in it., including the instrumental analysis.