![]() ![]() Some forms of fentanyl are so potent that inhaling a small amount can be harmful or fatal to humans and dogs. While this study focused on DNT as a proof of concept, MacCrehan says he believes the two-temperature method will also work with other explosives and with narcotics such as fentanyl. Credit: Used with permission of the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine. If the dog, a Labrador retriever named Buddy, alerts to the correct sample by sitting down next to it, he will be rewarded with his favorite toy and a little play time with another canine instructor offscreen. In this video, which shows an experimental setup similar to the one used in the NIST study, chief canine instructor Terrence Fischer sets up the test and canine instructor Jennifer Jankiewicz records the dog’s responses. Scientists at NIST and the Canine Performance Sciences program at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine worked together on a study that tested a new method for training dogs to detect explosives and narcotics. ![]() Co-authors at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine then demonstrated that trained detection dogs responded to the DNT-infused PDMS training aids as if they were real TNT. He also infused PDMS with vapors from a small quantity of TNT. “If terrorists are using a new type of explosive, you don’t want to wait a month for the training aids to be ready.”įor this experiment, MacCrehan infused PDMS with vapors from dinitrotoluene (DNT), which is a low-level contaminant present in TNT explosives but the main odorant that dogs respond to when detecting TNT. “That time savings can be critical,” said NIST research chemist Bill MacCrehan. This two-temperature method cut the time it took to “charge” PDMS training aids from a few weeks to a few days. In the journal Forensic Chemistry, they describe warming compounds found in explosives, causing them to release vapors more quickly, then capturing those vapors with PDMS that is maintained at a cooler temperature, which allows it to absorb vapors more readily. Enclose it in a container with an explosive or narcotic for a few weeks until it absorbs the odors, and you can then use it to safely train dogs to detect the real thing.īut a few weeks is a long time, and now, NIST researchers have developed a faster way to infuse PDMS with vapors. PDMS absorbs odors and releases them slowly over time. NIST scientists have been working to solve this problem using a jello-like material called polydimethylsiloxane, or PDMS for short. But one challenge is that dogs have to be trained, and training them with real hazardous substances can be inconvenient and dangerous. Trained dogs are incredible chemical sensors, far better at detecting explosives, narcotics and other substances than even the most advanced technological device. Courtesy of Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine ![]()
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