Finger & Toenail Follicle + ETG
DOT Regulated Part 40
D-TAP Drug Testing offers highly stable and easy-to-collect fingernail and toenail follicle testing, which is simple to store and ship.
Finger
Fingernails provide a cutting-edge sample for drug and alcohol testing. Composed of keratin—the same material as hair—fingernails trap substances as they grow, with biomarkers from the blood vessels beneath the nail becoming embedded in the keratin fibers. Fingernails are four times thicker than hair strands, often capturing more substance than hair can.
Toenail
Drug and alcohol biomarkers can be detected in fingernails for up to 3-6 months, while toenails can retain detectable substances for 6-12 months. Additionally, environmental exposure to illicit substances can be identified immediately in nail samples. Biomarkers from drugs or alcohol can appear in nails as early as 1-2 weeks after ingestion, with the detection period depending on the substance, the amount used, and individual metabolism.
Fingernail specimens are clipped and collected by the donor or collection staff in front of a trained professional. A clipping of 2-3 mm in length (about the width of a quarter) from all ten fingernails provides approximately 100 mg of specimen—the ideal amount for screening and confirmation. Larger panels may require more.
