Comparison of Two Immunoassay Screening Methods and a LC-MS/MS in Detecting Traditional and Designer Benzodiazepines in Urine

Sensitive and specific immunoassay screening methods for the detection of benzodiazepines in urine represent an important prerequisite for routine analysis in clinical and forensic toxicology. Moreover, emerging designer benzodiazepines force labs to keep their methodologies updated, in order to evaluate the reliability of the immunochemical techniques. This study aimed at evaluating the sensitivity and specificity of two different immunoassay methods for the detection of benzodiazepines in urine, through a comparison with the results obtained by a newly developed liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) procedure. A cohort of authentic urine samples (N = 501) were processed, before and after a hydrolysis procedure, through two immunoassays and an LC-MS/MS method. The LC-MS/MS target procedure was optimized for monitoring 25 different molecules, among traditional and designer benzodiazepines, including some metabolites. At least one of the monitored substances was detected in 100 out of the 501 samples. A good specificity was observed for the two immunoassays (>0.99), independently of the cut-offs and the sample hydrolysis. The new kit demonstrated a fairly higher sensitivity, always higher than 0.90; in particular, a high cross-reactivity of the new immunoassay was observed for samples that tested positive for lorazepam and 7-aminoclonazepam. The two immunoassays appeared adequate to monitor not only traditional benzodiazepines but also new designer ones.

A suicidal heavy metal poisoning mimicking corrosive acid poisoning: A rare case report

Ingestion of corrosive substances may cause severe to serious injuries of the upper aero-digestive tractand the poisoning can even result in death. Acute corrosive intoxications pose a major problem in clinical toxicology since the most commonly affected population are the young with psychic disorders, suicidal intent and alcohol addiction. In our case report, a 19-year-old male, 2year engineering student committed suicide by consuming a heavy metal salt available in his chemistry lab after leaving a suicidal note. He got treated in a private hospital for 2 days and later he succumbed due to poisoning. Though the findings of this heavy metal poisoning mimicks corrosive acid poisoning, it has to be viewed through the eye of forensic toxicology for a clear view in clinching the diagnosis in the earlier phase of treatment.

New Method for the Monitoring of Antidepressants in Oral Fluid Using Dried Spot Sampling

The increase in the consumption of antidepressants is a public health problem worldwide, as these are a class of compounds widely used in the treatment of several illnesses, such as depression and anxiety. This work aimed to develop and optimize a method for the quantification of a number of antidepressants and their metabolites (fluoxetine, venlafaxine, O-desmethylvenlafaxine, citalopram, sertraline, and paroxetine) in 100 µL of oral fluid using the dried saliva spots (DSS) sampling approach and gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS). The method was validated, presenting linearity within the studied range, with detection and quantification limits ranging between 10 and 100 ng/mL, and coefficients of determination (R2) of at least 0.99 for all analytes. Recoveries were between approximately 13 and 46%. The analysis of precision and accuracy presented acceptable coefficients of variation and relative errors, considering the criteria usually accepted in the validation of bioanalytical procedures. The method herein described is the first to be reported using DSS for the extraction of antidepressants, proving to be a sensitive, simple, and fast alternative to conventional techniques, and capable of being routinely applied in clinical and forensic toxicology scenarios.

The Application of Metabolomics in Forensic Science with Focus on Forensic Toxicology and Time-of-Death Estimation

Recently, the diagnostic methods used by scientists in forensic examinations have enormously expanded. Metabolomics provides an important contribution to analytical method development. The main purpose of this review was to investigate and summarize the most recent applications of metabolomics in forensic science. The primary research method was an extensive review of available international literature in PubMed. The keywords “forensic” and “metabolomics” were used as search criteria for the PubMed database scan. Most authors emphasized the analysis of different biological sample types using chromatography methods. The presented review is a summary of recently published implementations of metabolomics in forensic science and types of biological material used and techniques applied. Possible opportunities for valuable metabolomics’ applications are discussed to emphasize the essential necessities resulting in numerous nontargeted metabolomics’ assays.