New on-site color test to discriminate cocaine and cathinone derivatives.

Color tests are advantageous for the field detection of illicit drugs because of their simplicity, low cost, and rapidity. The Scott test has been widely used as a color test for cocaine; however, it has the disadvantage of reacting with cathinone derivatives. To develop a more discriminating field-testing procedure, we evaluated the Cupric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity (CUPRAC) and bicinchoninic acid (BCA) tests for cathinones, to discriminate between cocaine and cathinones.