Evolution of Forensic Toxicology

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
Anjali Somanathan ◽  
Komal Mathur
Keyword(s):  
Forensic Toxicology

Biomarkers of Alcohol Consumption in Body Fluids - Possibilities and Limitations of Application in Toxicological Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateusz Kacper Woźniak ◽  
Marek Wiergowski ◽  
Jacek Namieśnik ◽  
Marek Biziuk
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Forensic Toxicology ◽  
Body Fluids ◽  
Ethyl Esters ◽  
Ethyl Glucuronide ◽  
Human Organism ◽  
Analytical Toxicology ◽  
Preparation Methods ◽  
Toxicological Analysis

Background:Ethyl alcohol is the most popular legal drug, but its excessive consumption causes social problems. Despite many public campaigns against alcohol use, car accidents, instances of aggressive behaviour, sexual assaults and deterioration in labor productivity caused by inebriated people is still commonplace. Fast and easy diagnosis of alcohol consumption is required in order to introduce proper and effective therapy, and is crucial in forensic toxicology analysis. The easiest method to prove alcohol intake is determination of ethanol in body fluids or in breath. However, since ethanol is rapidly metabolized in the human organism, only recent consumption can be detected using this method. Because of that, the determination of alcohol biomarkers was introduced for monitoring alcohol consumption over a wider range of time.Objective:The objective of this study was to review published studies focusing on the sample preparation methods and chromatographic or biochemical techniques for the determination of alcohol biomarkers in whole blood, plasma, serum and urine.Methods:An electronic literature search was performed to discuss possibilities and limitations of application of alcohol biomarkers in toxicological analysis.Results:Authors described the markers of alcohol consumption such as: ethanol, its nonoxidative metabolites (ethyl glucuronide, ethyl sulfate, phosphatidylethanol, ethyl phosphate, fatty acid ethyl esters) and oxidative metabolites (acetaldehyde and acetaldehyde adducts). We also discussed issues concerning the detection window of these biomarkers, and possibilities and limitations of their use in routine analytical toxicology for monitoring alcohol consumption or sobriety during alcohol therapy.

Method Development in Forensic Toxicology

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (36) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank T. Peters ◽  
Dirk K. Wissenbach ◽  
Francesco Paolo Busardo ◽  
Emilia Marchei ◽  
Simona Pichini
Keyword(s):  
Method Development ◽  
Forensic Toxicology

Simultaneous and Sensitive Determination of Amphetamine, Codeine and Morphine in Exhaled Breath Condensate, Using Capillary Electrophoresis Coupled with On-line and Off-line Enhancing Methods

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 872-879
Author(s):  
Samin Hamidi
Keyword(s):  
Drugs Of Abuse ◽  
Exhaled Breath Condensate ◽  
Direct Injection ◽  
Forensic Toxicology ◽  
Analytical Signal ◽  
Exhaled Breath ◽  
Concentration Method ◽  
Validation Parameters ◽  
Breath Condensate

Background: Abuse of drugs is associated with several medical, forensic, toxicology and social challenges. “Drugs of abuse” testing is therefore an important issue. Objective: We propose a simple CE-based method for the quantification of amphetamine, codeine and morphine after direct injection of Exhaled Breath Condensate (EBC) by the aid of simple stacking mode and an off-line pre-concentration method. Methods: Using graphene oxide adsorbents, amphetamine, codeine and morphine were extracted from EBC in order to eliminate the proteins and other interferences. In addition to off-line method, an online stacking mode was applied to improve the analytical signal obtained from the instrument. Results: The validation parameters were experimented on the developed method based on the FDA guideline over concentration ranges of 12.5-100, 30-500 and 10-1250 ng/mL associated with amphetamine, codeine and morphine, respectively. Small volumes (around 100 μL) of EBC were collected using a lab-made setup and successfully analyzed using the proposed method where precisions and accuracies (within day and between days) were in accordance with the guideline (recommended less than 15 % for biological samples). The recovery tests were used to evaluate the matrix effect and data (94 to 105 %) showed that the proposed method can be applied in different EBC matrix samplings of subjects. Conclusion: The proposed method is superior for simultaneous determination of amphetamine, codeine and morphine over chromatographic analyses because it is fast and consumes fewer chemicals, with no derivatization step.

scholarly journals Founding Editorial – Forensics and TheScientificWorld

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 605-608
Author(s):  
Walter Rowe
Keyword(s):  
Forensic Science ◽  
Forensic Toxicology ◽  
Forensic Odontology ◽  
Eyewitness Testimony ◽  
Scientific Application ◽  
Forensic Biology ◽  
Current State ◽  
Tool Mark ◽  
The World ◽  
Forensic Engineering

At the beginning of a new millennium it seems a good idea to stop for a moment and take stock of the current state of forensic science. As a field of scientific research and scientific application, forensic science is a little more than a century old. Forensic science may be said to have begun in 1887 with the simultaneous publication of A. Conan Doyle’s A Study in Scarlet and Hans Gross’s Handbuch für Untersuchungsrichter. Conan Doyle’s novel introduced to the world the character of Sherlock Holmes, whose literary career would popularize the use of physical evidence in criminal investigations. Gross’s manual for examining magistrates suggests ways in which the expertise of chemists, biologists, geologists, and other natural scientists could contribute to investigations. Gross’s book was translated into a number of languages and went through various updated editions during the course of the century. The intervening century saw the development and application of fingerprinting, firearm and tool mark identification, forensic chemistry, forensic biology, forensic toxicology, forensic odontology, forensic pathology, and forensic engineering. Increasingly, the judicial systems of the industrial nations of the world have come to rely upon the expertise of scientists in a variety of disciplines. In most advanced countries, virtually all criminal prosecutions now involve the presentation of scientific testimony. This has had the beneficial effect of diminishing the reliance of courts on eyewitness testimony and defendant confessions.

Quantitation of Δ8-THC, Δ9-THC, Cannabidiol and 10 Other Cannabinoids and Metabolites in Oral Fluid by HPLC–MS-MS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Lin ◽  
Piyadarsha Amaratunga ◽  
Jerome Reed ◽  
Pornkamol Huang ◽  
Bridget Lorenz Lemberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Subject ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Oral Fluid ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Forensic Toxicology ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Driving Impairment ◽  
Three Samples ◽  
Cannabidiolic Acid ◽  
Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass

Abstract Quantitative analysis of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) in oral fluid has gained increasing interest in clinical and forensic toxicology laboratories. New medicinal and/or recreational cannabinoid products require laboratories to distinguish different patterns of cannabinoid use. This study validated a high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for 13 different cannabinoids, including (-)-trans-Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ8-THC), (-)-trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), cannabidiol (CBD), Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid-A (Δ9-THCA-A), cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), 11-hydroxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-OH-Δ9-THC), 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THCCOOH), tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), cannabidivarin (CBDV), cannabidiorcol (CBD-C1), cannabichromene (CBC), cannabinol (CBN) and cannabigerol (CBG), in oral fluid. Baseline separation was achieved in the entire quantitation range between Δ9-THC and its isomer Δ8-THC. The quantitation range of Δ9-THC, Δ8-THC and CBD was from 0.1 to 800 ng/mL. Two hundred human subject oral fluid samples were analyzed with this method after solid phase extraction. Among the 200 human subject oral fluid samples, all 13 cannabinoid analytes were confirmed in at least one sample. Δ8-THC was confirmed in 11 samples, with or without the presence of Δ9-THC. A high concentration of 11-OH-Δ9-THC or Δ9-THCCOOH (>400 ng/mL) was confirmed in three samples. CBD, Δ9-THCA-A, THCV, CBN and CBG were confirmed in 74, 39, 44, 107 and 112 of the 179 confirmed Δ9-THC-positive samples, respectively. The quantitation of multiple cannabinoids and metabolites in oral fluid simultaneously provides valuable information for revealing cannabinoid consumption and interpreting cannabinoid-induced driving impairment.

scholarly journals Spectroscopy as a useful tool for the identification of changes with time in post-mortem vitreous humor for forensic toxicology purposes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Wójtowicz ◽  
Agata Mitura ◽  
Renata Wietecha-Posłuszny ◽  
Rafał Kurczab ◽  
Marcin Zawadzki
Keyword(s):  
Ir Spectra ◽  
Forensic Toxicology ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Hierarchical Cluster ◽  
Vitreous Humor ◽  
Attenuated Total Reflection ◽  
Glass Slides ◽  
Added Benefit ◽  
Ft Ir ◽  
Non Destructive

AbstractVitreous humor (VH) is an alternative biological matrix with a great advantage of longer availability for analysis due to the lack of many enzymes. The use of VH in forensic toxicology may have an added benefit, however, this application requires rapid, simple, non-destructive, and relatively portable analytical analysis methods. These requirements may be met by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technique (FT-IR) equipped with attenuated total reflection accessory (ATR). FT-IR spectra of vitreous humor samples, deposited on glass slides, were collected and subsequent chemometric data analysis by means of Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and Principal Component Analysis was conducted. Differences between animal and human VH samples and human VH samples stored for diverse periods of time were detected. A kinetic study of changes in the VH composition up to 2 weeks showed the distinction of FT-IR spectra collected on the 1st and 14th day of storage. In addition, data obtained for the most recent human vitreous humor samples—collected 3 and 2 years before the study, presented successful discrimination of all time points studied. The method introduced was unable to detect mephedrone addition to VH in the concentration of 10 µg/cm3. Graphic abstract

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