Researchers have developed a new, affordable tool to help identify counterfeit medications by analyzing how pills dissolve in water, according to a March 19 announcement. The device, created by William Grover and his laboratory at the University of California, Riverside, aims to address the global problem of fake and substandard drugs.
The World Health Organization estimates that one in ten medications worldwide are either fake or do not meet quality standards. This issue is especially prevalent in developing countries but also affects consumers in the United States through gray markets for products like weight-loss or anti-aging drugs.
"Watered-down or illicit versions of drugs like Botox or popular GLP-1 inhibitors have caused serious injuries or death," said William Grover, associate bioengineering professor at the University of California, Riverside.
Grover's team designed a detector that can be built for under $30 and possibly as little as $5. The open-source plans are detailed in a recent paper published in Analytical Chemistry. The core component is an inexpensive infrared sensor originally intended for toy robots. Researchers repurposed it to monitor how quickly pills dissolve in water. By comparing the dissolution rates—what they call a "disintegration fingerprint"—the device can distinguish between legitimate and counterfeit drugs.
"The theory here is that if it's a legitimate medicine, the manufacturer made every pill identical enough that they'll all behave roughly the same way when they dissolve," Grover explained. "So if you test a suspect pill, and it dissolves at a different rate than the real thing, this suggests the suspect pill is counterfeit."
Testing over 30 types of medication—including antibiotics, vitamin supplements, prescription opioids, and painkillers—the researchers found their method correctly identified about 90% of samples. They could even differentiate between name-brand and generic aspirin using their technique.
The team also collected drug samples from across the U.S. and Canada with help from friends and family. They observed that pills from different locations usually had similar fingerprints unless manufacturers produced slightly different versions for separate countries.
According to Grover, public health risks remain due to people buying prescription medications from unreliable online pharmacies—a concern echoed by warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Sometimes manufacturing errors can also result in dangerous irregularities: "A facility could get a drum of mislabeled ingredients that can get incorporated into the medicine," Grover said. "But even an honest error can lead to death."
Looking ahead, Grover hopes this technology will help combat fake antimalarial drugs—a major threat in tropical regions where malaria remains deadly but treatable with proper medication.
"Unfortunately, bad actors know they can make money preying on the need for antimalarials. They sell pills that have the same packaging as authentic antimalarials but don't contain the active ingredients," Grover said. "If someone gives these pills to their child, they won't cure their infection." He added: "I can't imagine a more despicable person than someone who would sell fake medicine to a child. I hope our work makes those criminals' lives a little harder."
