Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry drug testing, more commonly referred to as

GC-MS drug testing is the most commonly accepted method of discerning if the person being subjected to the test is guilty of using certain drugs.  There are problems with this type of testing being used as the absolute definitive truth about the individual’s guilt or innocence when it comes to toxin levels.  To understand the limits to the effectiveness of the GC-MS testing procedures it is important to understand how the test works.

The GC-MS testing method is actually a mixture of two separate testing technologies.  The GC part of it is the gas chromatograph which is an instrument used to separate a mixture of compounds by measuring their attraction to an adsorbent. An adsorbent is a material that has the capacity to adsorb another substance. Activated charcoal is one example of an adsorbent.  With GC testing the adsorbent is usually silica or alumina gel that lines the inside column of the gas chromatograph.  The person’s sample is injected into a gas inside the device where it travels through a column which is heated by an oven.  Inside the column the compounds are then separated.  As the compounds are separated they pass through a detection device which emits a signal where the signal is recorded by an electro-mechanical device.  What are actually being recorded are the retention times of the various compounds on the column in the gas chromatograph not the chemical makeup of the materials being recorded.

(To Be Continued)