Abstract: A tube or pipette-type element, such as a capillary tube or other tube element carries a drug identification system for a number of hypnotic-inducing drugs or anesthetic drugs. The drug identification system provides a visual indication of at least two or more drugs present in a liquid sample. The liquid sample is drawn into one end of the tube, moves along the tube, and functional materials and/or structure in the interior of the tube provide a visual indication of the presence of targeted contaminants (e.g., drugs) in the fluid sample. The design also minimizes or prevents any reflux of materials in the tube element back into the liquid or beverage from which the sample has been taken. An additional benefit of the system is safe disposal and moderate unit cost to the public.

Abstract: Security can be enhanced for any circular casino chip, betting chip or token by a magnetically readable system that may be applied to circular casino chip, betting chip or token. A circular casino chip, betting chip or token could be constructed and having at least a first, second and third set of magnetic readable information permanently attached to the circular casino chip, betting chip or token to form a source of magnetically readable information. Each set of magnetic information may have magnetic elements comprising a fiber, magnetic material filled binder, filament or strip, said first magnetic element having at least one magnetic property along the length of said fiber, magnetic filled binder, filament or strip, or physical spacing between said first magnetic element and said second magnetic element which can be mechanically read as different from the magnetic property or position of the second magnetic element. The information can be read from the side of the chip, so that stacks of chips may be read.

Abstract: Security may be enhanced for any magnetically readable system that may be applied or built into items, such as apparel, credit cards, currency, identification cards, or other transactional items. These and similar items, with informational content that can be varied may be used in systems for authenticating items and/or transactions.

Abstract: Elongated magnetic elements can be inserted into items to provide readable magnetic patterns which provide reproducible or unique signal patterns to identify or authenticate the items. Magnetic fibers may be distributed within items or magnetic strips to provide reproducible patterns when read. The patterns are stable because of the relatively large size of the magnetic elements as compared to conventional patterns of particles in recordable media. Oriented patterns of filaments may also be inserted into transactional items such as credit cards, checks and the like to provide identification (antiforgery) security to the item.

Abstract: Transactional items such as currency, credit cards, identification cards and the like can be provided with enhanced difficulty to forge or counterfeit by the inclusion of magnetic elements within the transactional item. The signal strength, period, amplitude and/or alignment of the magnetic field may be read as coded information by a magnetic reading head. The encoding of this information can be made increasingly difficult to imitate or forge by varying parameters within these (and other) mechanically readable inscriptions. Filaments coated with magnetic particles are particularly useful magnetic elements for inclusion in transactional items because of their ability to be physically aligned, extend across significant dimensions of the transactional item, and their ready inclusion into manufacturing processes for the transactional items.