The Only Drug Testing Laboratory In Las Vegas, Nevada

For over 25 years American Toxicology has been specializing in Employee and Forensic drug testing.

As far as laboratories fully dedicated to drug testing goes, we've been the only lab in Nevada that is soley dedicated to drug testing.

Quest Diagnostics once had a drug testing laboratory here in Las Vegas, but have moved it out to of state to California. Which means that all of the drug testing samples taken here in Las Vegas at any of the Quest locations will be be sent out of state to conduct the actual specimen testing. We honor Quest for their quality qork and the many collection locatioins they have within the Las Vegas area.

However when it comes to turn around time here in Las Vegas... we have the fastest lab results in the area, as any local laboratory should. With our online reporting, our clients can receive their results within 2-6 hours!

It's only been within the last four months that we have started branching out to other collection sites, offering them our drug testing laboratory services. Several local Las Vegas business owners have taken advantage of our laboratory services.



We have also been testing hair for a number of "out of state" collection sites. We have people sending us their hair for testing from:

California

Oregon

New Mexico

Texas

Oklahoma

Missouri

Arkansas

Kansas

Georgia

Wyoming

Utah

Idaho

Montana

Colorado

And the list keeps growing every week.

If you would like more information about our drug testing laboratory services call (702) 452-4999 and ask for Ben or Beau. Or e-mail ben@atilab.com

American Toxicology Mapped Locations

For Maps and directions to American Toxicology collection sites click on the links below.

North Side

South Side

East Side

Bullhead City

Reno

Hair alcohol testing

As the hair grows, it absorbs special markers called fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG) into its structure, which remain in the hair indefinitely. These markers are only produced when there is alcohol in the bloodstream, such that the more markers there are, the more alcohol you have consumed.

Tests detecting both FAEE and EtG levels have been used by UK courts.

Trimega Laboratories were the first company to commercialise FAEE testing in UK courts.^{[citation needed]} Tricho-Tech were the first company to commercialise EtG testing in UK courts.^{[citation needed]}

Analysis of hair samples has many advantages as a preliminary screening method for the presence of toxic substances deleterious to health after exposures in air, dust, sediment, soil and water, food and toxics in the environment. The advantages of hair analysis include the non-invasiveness, low cost and the ability to measure a large number of, potentially interacting, toxic and biologically essential elements. Hence, head hair analysis is now increasingly being used as a preliminary test to see whether individuals have absorbed poisons linked to behavioral health problems.[2]

The use of hair alcohol analysis to establish and verify persistent alcohol abusers within the United Kingdom has steadily increased in recent years.

In contrast to other drugs consumed, alcohol is not deposited directly in the hair. For this reason the investigation procedure looks for direct products of ethanol metabolism. The main part of alcohol is oxidized in the human body. This means it is released as water and carbon dioxide. One part of the alcohol reacts with fatty acids to produce esters. The sum of the concentrations of four of these fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs: ethyl myristate, ethyl palmitate, ethyl oleate and ethyl stearate) are used as indicators of the alcohol consumption. The amounts found in hair are measured in nanograms (one nanogram equals only one billionth of a gram), however with the benefit of modern technology, it is possible to detect such small amounts.

However there is one major difference between most drugs and alcohol metabolites (FAEE) in the way in which they enter into the hair: on the one hand like other drugs FAEEs enter into the hair via the keratinocytes, the cells responsible for hair growth. These cells form the hair in the root and then grow through the skin surface taking any substances with them. On the other hand the sebaceous glands produce FAEEs in the scalp and these migrate together with the sebum along the hair shaft (Auwärter et al., 2001, Pragst et al., 2004). So these glands lubricate not only the part of the hair that is just growing at 0.3 millimeters per day on the skin surface, but also the more mature hair growth, providing it with a protective layer of fat.

FAEEs (nanogram = one billionth of a gram) appear in hair in almost one order of magnitude higher than (the relevant order of magnitude of) Etg (picogram = one trillionth of a gram). It has been technically possible to measure FAEEs since 1993, whereas the technique for measuring (the relevant range of) Etg is still in its infancy.

In practice, most hair which is sent for analysis has been cosmetically treated in some way (bleached, permed etc.). It has been proven that FAEEs are (surprisingly) not significantly affected by such treatments (Hartwig et al., 2003a). So far no systematic investigations in this regard have been carried out for Etg

FAEE concentrations in hair from other body sites can be interpretated in a similar fashion as scalp hair (Hartwig et al., 2003b). Etg: no information available.

Extensive studies involving over 1000 donors have been carried out since 2000. These have enabled us to establish reliable reference ranges for FAEEs with respect to drinking habits of the various groups: non-drinkers <> 1ng/mg

There are no reliable reference ranges for Etg from comprehensive studies. Further investigations are in progress to examine the applicability of the method in practice of the detection of alcohol abuse.

Literature Pragst F., Balikova M.A.: State of the art in hair analysis for detection of drugs and alcohol abuse; Clinica Chimic Acta 370 2006 17-49.

Auwärter V.: Fettsäureethylester als Marker exzessiven Alkoholkonsums – Analytische Bestimmung im Haar und in Hautoberflächenlipiden mittels Headspace-Festphasenmikroextraktion und Gaschromatographie-Massenspektrometrie. Dissertation Humboldt-Universität Berlin 2006.

Pragst F., Auwärter V., Kiessling B., Dyes C.: Wipe-test and patch-test ror alcohol misuse based on the concentration ratio of fatty acid ethyl esters and squalen CFAEE/CSQ in skin surface lipids. Forensic Sci Int 2004; 143:77-86.

This helpful information was provided by Wikipedia.

Sampling for Hair Follicle Drug Testing

How to effectivly collect a hair sample for drug testing according to American Toxicology Laboratory in Las Vegas, Nevada.






Visit the official American Toxicology Website

The patient in this exmple is a worker in our laboratory.

Drug Detection through Hair Testing

Hair testing is considered accurate and can go back as far as 90 days.^{[citation needed]} As hair grows out, any drugs used are encased in the hair shaft, so the longer the hair, the more time back in the individual's drug history the laboratory can detect. Human hair grows an average of .5 inches/month, which corresponds to 30 days of possible drug testing for every .5 inch. Testing laboratories generally require 1.5 inches for testing. This means they can test for around 90 days of drug use. This time period depends upon the rate at which the individual's hair grows of course. Some people attempt to circumvent this through shaving their heads. This does not usually work. In the absence of the required amount of hair on the scalp, body hair can be used as an acceptable substitute. If all hair is shaven, the follicles of the hair may be used in place of the hair. Removing the hair follicles is more painful.

Additionally for pre-employment hair testing, the inability to obtain a sample may be grounds for not hiring the individual. Hair Testing labs are regulated by CLIA or SAMHSA (not FDA). There is a growing trend in major companies and law enforcement agencies to utilize hair analysis on account of its efficiency and reputation as the gold standard when considering test accuracy. This technology makes use of radioimmunoassay or the more modern ELISA technology with subsequent confirmation by mass spectrometry.

In recent years, hair testing has been the subject of a number of lawsuits. Studies have shown that different ethnic groups have different hair structure, potentially leading to false positives^{[citation needed]}. Shampoos are available to help you pass but you would have to shave your legs and body hair to make sure they take a sample from your head.

This helpful information about drug detection through the use of hair testing was provided by wikipedia.

American Toxicology is a full service drug testing laboratory in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are only a hand full of laboratories in the nation that have the abilities to accurately preform the hair test, and we are one of them!

Urine Drug Testing

This procedure requires that one provide a sample of urine. Either a test card is used on site for immediate results (see "General" section), or the sample is sent away to a lab to undergo gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (also known as GCMS), high performance liquid chromatography or immunoassay analysis. The majority of tests administered in pre-hire and even most probate scenarios are of the immediate, and less accurate "at home" variety. Most "dip stick" type tests have higher thresholds for a positive than do the GCMS tests. If a positive result (drug presence indicated) is found, the sample is usually sent to a lab for GCMS confirmation. This is largely due to the costliness of GCMS labaratory testing and time it takes to process and receive results. The results of any urine test reflect factors including, but not limited to age, weight, race, and often these factors are what determines whether the test is valid or not.

The efficacy of urine testing is debatable due to systematic cheating. It is widely reported that sample substitution and adulteration occur frequently, and both are effective methods of avoiding would-be positive tests. There are a number of adulterant "masking" agents that are sold, though they are often nothing more than a simple diuretic and are rarely more effective than caffeine. Some people drink copious amounts of water to successfully dilute the concentration of drug metabolites in their urine below detectable thresholds. Often this results in clear samples that may be rejected on the grounds of being too dilute, although a complex B vitamin will make urine yellow despite this practice of waterloading. Specific gravity testing can be done to identify whether or not the sample is of dilute nature, though this is used infrequently on otherwise inconspicuous samples. The substance Niacin is also frequently used for its reported "flushing" effect, though this is also of disputable adeptness. Some types of urinalysis can detect the use of these "detox" products, though they are rarely used unless some facet of the sample is suspicious. Also, the wide availability of at home drug screens allows an individual to take their own test before they receive one, thus knowing the results ahead of time- giving the user further opportunity to dilute the sample or to find a substitute.

This helpful information was provided to us by Wikipedia.

American Toxicology is a full service drug testing laboratory in Las Vegas, Nevada. We are proud of our excellent service and our quality results. With our new online reporting we are able to provide results same day (for locals) within 2-6 hours!