At the request of an RSID-Saliva client, a preliminary set of experiments were performed to develop a simple protocol for the identification of saliva from bottled water/mineral water using the SALIVA field kit.

Initial tests used 500 mL (0.5 L) bottled water containers

Invert bottle several times to insure that the sample is thoroughly mixed

Place a swab head into the water for 5 seconds. Briefly tap the swab to remove excess water – the swab will appear wet, but should not be dripping

Place the swab into the field kit extraction tube and ‘snap’ off the swab head – break the handle such that the entire broken head can be sealed inside the extraction tube

Close the extraction tube with the O-ring screw cap. Shake the extraction tube vigorously.

Incubate for a minimum of 20 minutes (a range of times will work – 20-50 minutes is just fine)

Using the provided disposable transfer pipette, place four (4) drops of the extraction tube in the sample well of the cassette

Record the results observed on the cassette after ten (10) minutes

Document the results on the provided evidence form or take a photograph of the cassette

Briefly: wet provided swab in bottle water – break off swab into provided extraction tube – close tube – shake – incubate 20 min – add four drops from extraction to RSID-Saliva cassette – read results at 10 min

This protocol will easily detect less than three drops of saliva in a 500 mL water bottle – this can be detected for at least 24 hrs after the saliva is added (contaminating) the water. We are testing the time course of the saliva detection and will report on those results when the time course is completed.