Talk:Syringe filter

Not NPOV
This article seems almost to advocate the use of drugs. Not very neutral at all. -- Where 00:47, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

There are some other articles like this also. Very sad, and makes Wikipedia look worse than it is. Dreg743 08:23, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Split
Perhaps this article should be split into two, one called syringe end filter, and the other called illegal drug filtration? And possibly another needs to be written, on drug adulteration. -- The Anome 10:53, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Wheel filters as a harm reduction strategy
I cleaned up some in this section and removed some of the tags from the paragraph because there were too many of them.


 * While wheel filters are the most effective filter available for injecting drug users,

I don't think anyone doubts this. Filtration is a standard method for purifying liquids.


 * I'd have to contest it, luer lock syringe tip filters are in many ways superior, and an article should be started about them in my opinion. Nagelfar (talk) 12:29, 24 December 2008 (UTC)


 * other more common types of filters used include cotton wool, tampons, and cigarette filters.

I don't have any druggie friends to ask, but this also doesn't seem controversial.


 * While these can serve as basic filters, they have a greater risk of bacterial infection or contamination from pieces of the filter itself. The condition known as cotton fever is caused by bacteria present in cotton used as a filter.

The wepbage on cotton fever has some references (or will when I finish editing that page).


 * Wheel filters are available in sizes that will filter out bacteria from a mix, but viruses are too small to be effectively filtered out.

This is true. According to the virus page, most viruses are 10-300 nm, whereas the most common small-pore filter is 0.2 micron (200 nm). As an example, the HIV virus particle is 120 nm. Bacteria are typically 0.5-5 microns in size and can be filtered out. Tocharianne 04:36, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for your help. As the original author of this article, I tried to find research backing many of the statements in this article. Unfortunately harm reduction among injecting drug users does not attract researchers so many of these findings are from the 'coal face' - harm reduction agencies trying to find practical strategies as new issues emerge among injecting drug users. Quihn 04:42, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Aren't there some "legitimate" uses for a wheel filter? Presumably it wasn't invented to help users of street drugs, but you'd never know by reading this article. WhatamIdoing (talk) 18:53, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it's often used to filter samples for HPLC, CE, or AES. I recommend removing the specific mention of using it for recreational drug use, but leaving in the parts about filtering out bacteria, fungal spores, et cetera. Iggwilv (talk) 18:50, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

What does the solubility of diazepam have to do with anything?
Under harm reduction there is one sentence about the solubility of diazepam (in what? this isn't said), I don't understand what it's doing here. Fmdjvncl (talk) 19:32, 28 October 2023 (UTC)


 * ok I went along and removed it, I cannot for the life of me figure out a good reason for this fact to be here... nothing to do with the subject at hand, seems to suggest a syringe filter will filter out diazepam which is very doubtful Fmdjvncl (talk) 19:36, 28 October 2023 (UTC)