PRECURSORS

 In chemistry, a precursor is a compound that participates in a chemical reaction that

produces another compound.
 In biochemistry, the term "precursor" often refers more specifically to a chemical
compound preceding another in a metabolic pathway, such as a protein precursor.
 In chemistry, a precursor is a compound that participates in a chemical reaction that
produces another compound, or a chemical substance that gives rise to another
more important chemical product.
 one that precedes and indicates the approach of another predecessor
 a chemical that is transformed into another compound, as in the course of a
chemical reaction, and therefore precedes that compound in the synthetic
pathway:Cholesterol is a precursor of testosterone.
 A biochemical substance, such as an intermediate compound in a chain of enzymatic
reactions, that gives rise to a more stable or definitive product.
Among the precursors used for the production of carbon fibers:
ex. Acrylic Precursors, PAN Precursors.

Detection
A portable, advanced sensor based on infrared spectroscopy in a hollow fiber matched to a
silicon-micromachined fast gas chromatography column can analyze illegal stimulants and
precursors with nanogram-level sensitivity.[2]
Raman spectroscopy has been successfully tested to detect explosives and their precursors.
[3]

Technologies able to detect precursors in the environment could contribute to an early

location of sites where illegal substances (both explosives and drugs of abuse) are produced.
[4][5][6]