Q1: How do the kits work?

The test panel is an immunoassay based on the principle of competitive binding. Drugs which may be present in the urine/saliva specimen compete against their respective drug conjugate for binding sites on their specific antibody.

During testing, a urine/saliva specimen migrates upward by capillary action. A drug, if present in the specimen below its cut-off concentration, will not saturate the binding sites of its specific antibody. The antibody will then react with the drug protein conjugate and a visible colored line will show up in the test line region of the specific drug strip. The presence of a drug above the cut off concentration will saturate all the binding sites of the antibody. Therefore, the coloured line will not form in the test line region.

A drug positive urine/saliva specimen will not generate a coloured line in the specific test line region of the strip because of drug competition, whilst a drug negative urine/saliva specimen will generate a line in the test region because of the absence of drug competition.

To serve as a procedural control, a coloured line will always appear at the control line region, indicating that proper volume of specimen has been added and membrane wicking has occurred.

Q2: Do Drug Alert Kits have a cut off level for testing?

Yes they do. The table below shows the cut off level for each of the drugs they test for. These cut off levels are based on the standard specifications set for substance abuse test kits. Drug Alert kits do not use a zero level, as the possibility of obtaining a false positive result would be increased.

Q3: How can I be sure the test is working correctly?

Each kit has a control line which is indicated by a C. When a red line appears next to the C it is your verification that the kit has worked correctly. It will appear, be it a positive or negative result. If the line next to the C does not appear then the result is invalid.

Q4: After taking drugs how long will they stay in my system and the kits pick up the presence of a drug?

There are a number of factors which have to be taken into account. These include:

• The metabolism of the person being tested
• The type of drug consumed. As an example, marijuana can stay in the system for a month or more
• The amount and frequency that a drug is consumed

The table below will serve as a general guide:

Q5: Why is my brochure different to the online one?

Recently Drug Alert has updated their testing kits to be in line with  to AU/NZ standards rather than European standards.

All updated packs will now reflect that at the bottom of the pack and also in the new brochures.