USING SCIENTIFIC TOOLS IN AN INTERNATIONAL WAR ON FAKE DRUGS
Facundo M. Fernandez
Fernandez  a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology  said that the demonstration  which he repeated with other bills provided by a reporter  showed both how pervasive cocaine was in the United States and how sensitive his machines were.
 They can instantly identify the chemical makeup of food  drugs and just about anything placed in front of their stainless-steel aperture. The uses of the machines  known as mass spectrometers  are manifold -- the federal Department of Homeland Security has commissioned Fernandez to study whether the technology can help sniff for explosives at airports.
 But Fernandez's main focus is counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs  especially in poorer countries  where government regulation is weak. He is part of an informal group of researchers and government officials spanning Africa  Asia and the United States who have teamed up with Interpol  the international police agency  to use cutting-edge technology in tracking fake drugs that claim to treat malaria. Counterfeit malaria drugs are of particular concern because of the scale and severity of the disease -- it kills more than 2 000 children a day in Africa alone -- and fears that fake or substandard malaria drugs are aggravating a growing problem of drug resistance.
 A scientific breakthrough in 2005 added an "ion gun" to the machines and allowed Fernandez to check hundreds of pills a day. A technician simply holds the sample -- a pill  dog food or a dollar bill  for example -- up to the machine  which emits a jet of helium gas and captures a minute amount of the material  instantly identifying its components.
 Contrary to the common belief that counterfeit drugs are just sugar pills  Fernandez said  most fakes have some level of active ingredient. Many contain the cheap and readily available pain reliever paracetamol  which might temporarily soothe some symptoms but will not fight the underlying disease.
 Mass spectrometers may have a role in weeding out some of these counterfeits. Fernandez  of Georgia Tech  is using them to test whether mosquito nets treated with insecticide  a crucial way to combat malaria  are genuine.
 With time  though  Fernandez hopes  costs will come down far enough that machines could be installed in local pharmacies.
 "I always dream that at some point the end-consumer will be able to check " Fernandez said. "You put your tablet in front of a machine and you get a red light or a green light. That would be the end of counterfeit drugs."
Fernandez  a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology  said that the demonstration  which he repeated with other bills provided by a reporter  showed both how pervasive cocaine was in the United States and how sensitive his machines were.
 They can instantly identify the chemical makeup of food  drugs and just about anything placed in front of their stainless-steel aperture. The uses of the machines  known as mass spectrometers  are manifold -- the federal Department of Homeland Security has commissioned [TGT] to study whether the technology can help sniff for explosives at airports.
 But [TGT]'s main focus is counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs  especially in poorer countries  where government regulation is weak. [TGT] is part of an informal group of researchers and government officials spanning Africa  Asia and the United States who have teamed up with Interpol  the international police agency  to use cutting-edge technology in tracking fake drugs that claim to treat malaria. Counterfeit malaria drugs are of particular concern because of the scale and severity of the disease -- it kills more than 2 000 children a day in Africa alone -- and fears that fake or substandard malaria drugs are aggravating a growing problem of drug resistance.
 A scientific breakthrough in 2005 added an "ion gun" to the machines and allowed [TGT] to check hundreds of pills a day. A technician simply holds the sample -- a pill  dog food or a dollar bill  for example -- up to the machine  which emits a jet of helium gas and captures a minute amount of the material  instantly identifying its components.
 Contrary to the common belief that counterfeit drugs are just sugar pills  [TGT] said  most fakes have some level of active ingredient. Many contain the cheap and readily available pain reliever paracetamol  which might temporarily soothe some symptoms but will not fight the underlying disease.
 Mass spectrometers may have a role in weeding out some of these counterfeits. Fernandez  of Georgia Tech  is using them to test whether mosquito nets treated with insecticide  a crucial way to combat malaria  are genuine.
 With time  though  [TGT] hopes  costs will come down far enough that machines could be installed in local pharmacies.
 "I always dream that at some point the end-consumer will be able to check " [TGT] said. "You put your tablet in front of a machine and you get a red light or a green light. That would be the end of counterfeit drugs."