The students are still in the process of researching and developing their product with the help of donations.Ī White House task force report released this year showed one in five American female students reported being attacked.

Undercover Colors won the Lulu eGames in April and recently reached the semi-final of the K50 start-up showcase. And so the idea of creating a nail polish that detects date rape drugs was born.' 'We wanted to focus on preventive solutions, especially those that could be integrated into products that women already use. All of us have been close to someone who has been through the terrible experience and we began to focus on finding a way to help prevent the crime. Madan told Higher Education Works: 'As we were thinking about big problems in our society, the topic of drug-facilitated sexual assault came up. Each of the students personally know someone who has been sexually assaulted.

The team was granted $11,250 (£6,600) from North Carolina State's Entrepreneurship Initiative, which aims to develop solutions to 'real-world challenges'. If her nail polish changes colour, she'll know that something is wrong.' 'With our nail polish, any woman will be empowered to discreetly ensure her safety by simply stirring her drink with her finger. Our goal is to invent technologies that empower women to protect themselves from this heinous and quietly pervasive crime,' the students' Facebook page reads. 'While date-rape drugs are often used to facilitate sexual assault, very little science exists for their detection. Stephen Gray, Ankesh Madan, Tasso Von Windheim and Tyler Confrey-Maloney conceived the idea after forming a team on the university's Engineering Entrepreneurs Program.

Whether this test will soon come in other forms, such as nail varnish, remains to be seen.A group of students in the US have developed nail polish that detects date-rape drugs in drinks Flickrįour students in the US have invented a novel way of protecting women from sexual assault on nights out - a nail polish that detects the presence of date-rape drugs.Ī group of undergraduates in the Materials Science & Engineering department at North Carolina State University are developing a nail varnish called Undercover Colors that reacts when it comes into contact with drugs such as Rohypnol, GHB and Xanax. It tested positive and they immediately notified security.’ She used them for the first time last night at a frat party, where they suspected her friend’s drink had been tampered with. One parent wrote on the website: ‘I am so thankful we bought these for our daughter. However, it could be well-worth the investment as the product has glowing reviews. But for UK shoppers this will be considerably more with shipping. A woman has been jailed for 2 years for having an illegal abortion - how is that fair?Ī starter testing kit is available to buy through the Undercover Colors website, priced at $14.99 (around £11) for a three-pack – although it’s currently out of stock.

Who developed undercover colors