. 2011;13(5):PCC.11r01178. doi: 10.4088/PCC.11r01178

Table 3.

Household Chemicals Used as In Vitro Adulterants: Mechanism of Action, Tests Potentially Affected by Use, and Methods of Detection

Chemical	Mechanism of Adulteration	Tests Done by Laboratories That Are Affected	Potential False-Negative Results	Method of Detection
Bleach (sodium hypochlorite)	Interferes in immunoassays; most effective urine adulterant	EMIT II²⁴	THC	AdultaCheck 4²³^,²⁴
		CEDIA²⁰	Amphetamine, opioids, cocaine, PCP, benzodiazepines, barbiturates	Intect 7²⁴
		EIA²⁹	Opioids, cocaine, barbiturates, benzodiazepines
		FPIA³⁰	THC
		RIA³¹^,³²	THC
		GC/MS³²	THC
Vinegar (acetic acid)	Lower pH levels, which can affect binding, reaction times, and drug solubility	FPIA³¹	THC	AdultaCheck 4²⁴
		EIA³²	THC	Intect 7²⁴
		EMIT II²⁴	THC	Mask Ultra Screen²⁴
		Monitect PC11²²	Amphetamine
Visine eye drops	Uptake of THC through benzalkonium chloride (inactive ingredient in Visine eye drops) reduces the binding in immunoassay drug screens	EMIT³³	THC	…
		CEDIA²⁰	THC
		FPIA³¹	THC
		EIA³²	THC
		RIA³¹	THC
Drano (sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda)	Oxidation reaction; it also changes the pH of the urine to alkaline, which can affect binding, reaction times, and drug solubility	CEDIA²⁰	THC, amphetamine, opioids, cocaine, PCP, benzodiazepines, barbiturates	Intect 7²²
		EIA³²	THC, amphetamine, opioids, cocaine, benzodiazepines, barbiturates
		FPIA³¹	Opioids, PCP
		Monitect PC11²²	THC
Detergent/soap	Alters pH of urine and also interferes with drug binding on immunoassays	CEDIA²⁰	THC, amphetamine, opioids, cocaine, PCP, barbiturates	…
		EIA³²	THC, benzodiazepines, barbiturates
		FPIA³¹	THC, cocaine
		EMIT³⁴	THC
		RIA³¹	Cocaine
Ammonia	…	EMIT II²⁴	Cocaine, PCP	Intect 7²⁴
				AdultaCheck 4²⁴
Table salt (sodium chloride)	May affect immunoassay results by changing protein structures, which then alter enzyme activity and drug binding	EMIT³⁵	Amphetamine, opioids, cocaine, barbiturates, PCP, benzodiazepines	Specific Gravity³⁶^,³⁷
		FPIA³¹	THC

Abbreviations: CEDIA = cloned enzyme donor immunoassay, EIA = enzyme immunoassay, EMIT = enzyme multiplied immunoassay, FPIA = fluorescence polarization immunoassay, GC/MS = gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, PCP = phencyclidine, RIA = radioimmunoassay, THC = tetrahydrocannabinol.

Symbol: … = not applicable.