Published research on synthetic urine, adulteration and specimen subversion.
Tripler Army Medical Center
RTI International
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Jena University Hospital
University of Maryland School of MedicineTwo of these studies show that standard specimen validity testing is insufficient for today’s adulteration methods.
Can synthetic urine replace authentic urine to “beat” workplace drug testing?
Kim, Okano, Osborne, Frank, Meana, Castaneto · Tripler Army Medical Center Forensic Toxicology Drug Testing Laboratory and NCIS
Drug Testing and Analysis · 2018
A peer reviewed military laboratory study of whether commercial synthetic urine products pass workplace drug testing.
Download PDF → 528 KB
Update on Urine Adulterants and Synthetic Urine Samples to Subvert Urine Drug Testing
Vikingsson, Krauss, Winecker (RTI International); Flegel, Hayes (SAMHSA, Division of Workplace Programs)
Review · 2022
8 of 10 synthetic urine products produced results consistent with authentic urine under standard validity testing, and could not be identified by traditional validity testing or an adulterant dipstick.
Download PDF → 3.8 MB
Evaluation of Diagnostic Sensitivity and Specificity of a New Automatized Assay for Indirect Synthetic Urine Identification
Franke, Fuczik, Wissenbach · Institute for Forensic Medicine, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Drug Testing and Analysis · 2025 · doi:10.1002/dta.3908
1,188 real life urine specimens. 100% sensitivity and 88.9% specificity for the VDx True Urine LD marker.
Download PDF → 1.1 MB
S-53: Assay Effective in Identifying Synthetic Urine Products, a Potential Solution for Workplace and Clinical Drug Testing
Vikingsson, Johann, DiEmma, Skirnick, Bollinger, Winecker (RTI International); Flegel, Hayes, Davis (SAMHSA, Division of Workplace Programs)
Society of Forensic Toxicologists · Poster · 2025
RTI International and SAMHSA validated that VDx reagents detect synthetic urine products: in an independent study of 111 samples, VDx True Urine LD identified 14 of 15 commercial synthetic urine products.
Download PDF → 44 KB
New Second Generation Specimen Validity Testing for Urine Drugs-of-Abuse Testing
Bateh (Advanced Pain Management Clinic, Jacksonville); Denney (Validity Diagnostics); Christenson (University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore)
TIAFT · Poster
Approximately 5,000 clinical urine specimens screened with the VDx panel, compared against the traditional SVT panel.
Download PDF → 203 KB
Two studies, five years apart. Same result: synthetic urine detected.
Toxicology laboratory, Advanced Pain Management Clinic, Jacksonville, FL · Beckman Olympus AU400e
Laboratory evaluation · 2020 and 2025
26 of 26 commercial synthetic urine products failed the True Essentials panel. 11 samples received as unknowns in 2020 and 15 in 2025; every one was reported invalid.
Download PDF → 830 KB
Now You See It, Now You Don’t: The Case of Vanishing Drugs in a Urine Drug Screen
Ricky P. Bateh, PhD · Advanced Pain Management Clinic, LLC, Jacksonville, FL
TIAFT · Poster
After consuming a detox drink, the drug levels can decrease below cut-off levels in a urine drug screen. Standard validity tests cannot detect it but the VDx reagents can.
Download PDF → 595 KBVDx reagents are currently implemented on Beckman Coulter, Olympus AU, Thermo Fisher Indiko Plus, Carolina Liquid Chemistries CLC1600, and Siemens Atellica analyzers. Do not see your analyzer listed? Talk with VDx. For qualified opportunities, we can evaluate additional chemistry analyzer implementations.
See the VDx Reagent Catalog
Specimen validity testing evaluates specimen integrity. It does not establish drug use and does not replace existing drugs of abuse testing. Results may vary by platform and protocol. For laboratory use only.
Published papers and conference posters remain the copyright of their authors and publishers and are provided here for professional reference.
Talk with our team about strengthening specimen validity testing in your program.
