Use of Methylene Blue As a Simulant for the Physical Properties of Cocaine HCl and Heroin HCl

Technological challenges in the development and testing of illicit narcotics include assuring safety of researchers and operations personnel from drug exposure, assessing the efficiency of sampling and sample handling, checking for artifacts introduced by field procedures, and maintaining quality control/quality assurance. The dye methylene blue was chosen as a simulant for cocaine HCl and heroin HCl. The similarities include the presence of fused ring systems, molecular weights over 300 g/mol, and melting points between 200 and 300 degrees C. A significant difference is that methylene blue has a much lower solubility in water than cocaine HCl and heroin HCl. Experiments have been conducted to successfully increase the solubility of the simulant to match those of cocaine HCl and heroin HCl by adding solidum methyl sulfate.