Background

The customer is a start-up company in the field of secure packaging. In the sports world, athletes competing in certain events are required to provide urine or blood samples before and after competing. The samples are sent to an accredited lab, where they are screened to see if they contain any illegal or banned substances. Various high-profile doping scandals inspired the customer to develop a unique family of plastic sample containers with an innovative tamper-proof seal that can be opened only once, thereby preventing pre-analysis tampering.

The result is a higher value product and increased assurance to customers, enabling the company to maintain its position as a technology leader in the anti-doping market.

Challenge

Having worked with certified Olympics labs, the customer was in search of a second security layer to prevent the use of fake samples, which might compromise the integrity of athlete samples sent for testing. The company needed to find a way to authenticate its own containers and seals as original and approached Dotz for a suitable marking solution.

Solution

Dotz set about developing a complete solution that would enable easy and quick authentication of the test tubes in the labs. In developing a special marker with a spectral signature that could be incorporated into the lid of the containers, the technical requirements were diverse and challenging. The marker was required to possess a unique optical fingerprint and withstand the extremely high temperatures and pressures involved in the plastics extrusion process. After a thorough R&D process, the company developed a special marker that complied with these requirements: it could be easily added to the polymer, and withstand temperatures of up to 300°C and other extreme conditions, such as high pressure, while retaining its optical properties. 

In response to the need for simple, mobile detection, Dotz also developed a miniaturized mobile detection device that could be easily transported to labs and sporting events, so that the spectral signature within the lids could be efficiently detected on site. This digital device was enhanced with the capability to automatically transmit the results, in real-time, to a secure database in the laboratory’s cloud-based management system.

Impact

Enhanced with authentication capabilities through the optical markers, and the smart mobile detectors, the customer’s product is now highly secure. The result is a higher value product and increased assurance to customers, enabling the company to maintain its position as a technology leader in the anti-doping market.