Sarasota company that sells drug detection wipes is expanding globally

SARASOTA, Fla. — One Sarasota business is expanding its product and going global. Its goal is to help in the fight against explosives and drugs.

If there’s one thing Barry Gorski knows about, it’s inventing new products.

“Then we are going to add the analyte to it,” he said.

He’s a chemist and the director of research and development for Trace Eye-D in Sarasota.

He and his team invented wipes that can detect explosives and drugs like cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine.

He said you’ll know it when you see the color change on the wipe.

“It will give you an instantaneous response,” Gorski said.

Gorski said the wipes save time and are safer than other traditional ways of testing for drugs.

“And the kits that they use now, where you have to break an ampule and shake it, and you literally have to pick the substance up and put it into a pouch — that’s pretty dangerous,” he said.

It’s a process that’s taken time to develop.

“Oh, a number of years now,” Gorski said. “Perfecting everything we started. Like I said, we started off with explosives, and then the drug thing became bigger and bigger.”

So much so that now they’re selling their product across the world.

Chris Baden is the CEO. He said since launching the wipes in early 2023, sales have grown by 500%.

The wipes are being utilized by police, military, and forensics worldwide, along with law enforcement locally.

“Now, we’ve developed a net dealer/reseller network of over 40 distributors, ranging from Norway, Finland, the United States, Colombia. We’re all over the map. But we have some really strong representation here in the U.S. now,” Baden said.

As Gorski and his team continue to work, the company continues to expand.

He says it’s rewarding knowing they’re providing a tool to potentially help the community stay safe.