Forensic Toxicology最新文献

{"title":"Can the cyanide metabolite, 2-aminothiazoline-4-carboxylic acid, be used for forensic verification of cyanide poisoning?","authors":"Abdullah H Alluhayb, Carter Severance, Tara Hendry-Hofer, Vikhyat S Bebarta, Brian A Logue","doi":"10.1007/s11419-024-00690-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11419-024-00690-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Forensic verification of cyanide (CN) poisoning by direct CN analysis in postmortem blood is challenging due to instability of CN in biological samples. CN metabolites, thiocyanate (SCN^-) and 2-aminothiazoline-4-carboxylic acid (ATCA), have been proposed as more stable biomarkers, yet it is unclear if either is appropriate for this purpose. In this study, we evaluated the behavior of CN biomarkers in postmortem swine and postmortem blood to determine which serves as the best biomarker of CN exposure.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>CN, SCN^-, and ATCA were measured in postmortem swine (N = 8) stored at 4 °C and postmortem blood stored at 25 °C (room temperature, RT) and 37 °C (typical human body temperature, HBT).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Following CN poisoning, the concentration of each CN biomarker increased well above the baseline. In postmortem swine, CN concentrations declined rapidly (t_1/2 = 34.3 h) versus SCN^- (t_1/2 = 359 h, 15 days) and ATCA (t_1/2 = 544 h, 23 days). CN instability in postmortem blood increased at RT (t_1/2 = 10.7 h) and HBT (t_1/2 = 6.6 h). SCN^- and ATCA were more stable than CN at all storage conditions. In postmortem swine, the t_1/2s of SCN^- and ATCA were 15 and 23 days, respectively. While both the t1/2s of SCN^- and ATCA were relatively lengthy, endogenous levels of SCN^- were much more variable than ATCA.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>While there are still questions to be answered, ATCA was the most adept forensic marker of CN poisoning (i.e., ATCA produced the longest half-life, the largest increase above baseline levels, and most stable background concentrations).</p>","PeriodicalId":12329,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11269370/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140911252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Detection and quantification of etomidate and metomidate in human hairs by ultraperformance liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS).","authors":"Yinyin Dai, Xiaolong Zhang, Kundi Zhao, Yue Wang, Jinlei Liu, Jie Gu, Huiru Bai, Koutaro Hasegawa, Amin Wurita","doi":"10.1007/s11419-023-00678-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11419-023-00678-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Intravenous narcotic agents, such as etomidate and metomidate, has been widely spread and abused in the world, including in Korea and China; thus, it is important to establish validated and sensitive analytical method for these compounds. Human hair as a biological sample has various advantages, including a wide detection window of drugs, compared to other typical samples, such as urine and blood in investigation. The purpose of this communication is to develop a reliable and useful method for the simultaneous detection and quantification of etomidate and metomidate in human hair samples by ultraperformance liquid chromatography combined with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS), and to apply it for authentic samples in abuse cases.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The hair samples were washed with a detergent solution, followed by with water and acetone. After drying, they were cut into approximately 2 mm sections and then ground to powder by a low-temperature grinder. The 20 mg of hair powder plus internal standard in 1 mL of methanol was vortexed and then centrifuged to obtain the supernatant layer, followed by subjecting to analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The coefficient of determination (r²) values of the calibration curves of etomidate and metomidate in the hair samples were both more than 0.99 in the range of 1-500 ng/mg and 1-500 pg/mg, respectively. The limits of detection and lower limits of quantification were 0.5 and 1 pg/mg, respectively, for the both target compounds. Other tested validation data were all satisfactory. Etomidate and metomidate could be detected in the all hair samples and cigarette oil, which were seized by the police. The concentrations of etomidate and metomidate obtained from 10 samples from suspects were 5.48-45.7 ng/mg and 3.60-377 pg/mg, respectively. The concentrations of etomidate and metomidate in the cigarette oil were 95.8 μg/mg and 2.8 μg/mg, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In this study, a simple and reliable analytical method for etomidate and metomidate in the human hair has been established. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to establish a method for the simultaneous detection and quantification of etomidate and metomidate in the human hair, and to apply it to authentic samples seized in authentic cases.</p>","PeriodicalId":12329,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139491092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Kerosene condenses in the trachea following inhalation.","authors":"Sella Takei, Hiroshi Kinoshita, Sachiko Kawahara, Mitsuru Kumihashi, Mostofa Jamal, Tadayoshi Yamashita, Etsuko Tanaka, Hiroko Abe, Kunihiko Tsutsui, Shoji Kimura","doi":"10.1007/s11419-024-00682-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11419-024-00682-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>We have investigated the absorption dynamics of petroleum fuel components from the analytical results of autopsy samples.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Post-mortem samples of the severely burned case, including femoral blood, intratracheal contents (mucus) and intratracheal gas-phase samples were collected, and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer with head-space solid-phase microextraction.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The composition of flammable substances in the tracheal gas phase differed slightly from that in mucus.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>High-boiling point components are retained in the trachea, whereas relatively lower-boiling point components are detected predominantly in the tracheal gas phase and blood.</p>","PeriodicalId":12329,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11269421/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140021311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reply to the paper of Breuer et al.: complementary information concerning the suspected interindividual transmission of GW1516, a substance prohibited in sport, through intimate contact-a case report.","authors":"Pascal Kintz","doi":"10.1007/s11419-024-00694-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11419-024-00694-0","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12329,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141456187","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometric method for determination of 52 antibiotics in human whole blood and urine and application to forensic cases","authors":"Qianwen Shi, Gege Wang, Shuhui Wang, Chao Zhang, Zhiwen Wei, Zhongyuan Guo, Dan Zhang, Keming Yun, Shanlin Fu","doi":"10.1007/s11419-024-00688-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11419-024-00688-y","url":null,"abstract":"<h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Purpose</h3><p>A rapid and reliable method was developed and validated for the simultaneous analysis of 52 antibiotics (cephalosporins, penicillins, carbapenems, lincosamides, quinolones, nitroimidazoles, macrolides, sulfonamides, tetracyclines, glycopeptide) in urine and whole blood by high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS).</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Method</h3><p>Analytes were extracted by dilution or protein precipitation and analyzed on an Agilent 1260 HPLC system coupled to an Agilent 6470 Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Results</h3><p>The method attended method validation criteria. The limits of detection were equal or lower than 2.0 ng/mL, whereas the limits of quantification ranged from 0.1 to 10.0 ng/mL, from 0.1 to 5.0 ng/mL, in urine and whole blood, respectively. For all analytes, the bias and intra- and inter-day precision values were less than 14.7%. The ranges of recovery values of all antibiotics were 76.5–124.5% in whole blood and 76.3–121.8% in urine, values of the effects were lower than 25% in two matrices. No evidence of carryover was observed. The study of sample stability showed that almost all analytes were stable at 24 °C for 24 h, all analytes were stable at −20 °C for 14 days and at −80 °C for 30 days. Freeze–thaw cycles stability showed that antibiotics were stable except for imipenem. Autosampler stability study showed that all analytes were stable for 24 h, except for imipenem and amoxicillin. Applicability was proven by analyzing authentic whole blood (<i>n</i> = 86) and urine (<i>n</i> = 79) samples from patients under antibiotics treatment. Therefore, this method was applied to the analysis 3 forensic allergy cases, which were positive for at least one analyte.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Conclusions</h3><p>A simple, sensitive and high-throughput method for the simultaneous determination of different classes of antibiotics in urine and whole blood samples was developed and applied. This sensitive method was successfully applied to forensic cases.</p>","PeriodicalId":12329,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140630733","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vitreous humor in the forensic toxicology of quetiapine and its metabolites","authors":"Danai Moschovakou, Stamatina-Panagoula Ntoupa, Artemisia Dona, Sotirios Athanaselis, Chara Spiliopoulou, Panagiota Nikolaou, Ioannis Papoutsis","doi":"10.1007/s11419-024-00687-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11419-024-00687-z","url":null,"abstract":"<h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Purpose</h3><p>Τhe aim of the present study was to investigate the use of vitreous humor as an alternative biological material in forensic toxicology for the determination of quetiapine, 7-hydroxy-quetiapine, and nor-quetiapine. The distribution of these substances in vitreous humor was studied by determining and correlating their concentrations in vitreous humor with the respective concentrations in blood.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Methods</h3><p>During this study, a method for the determination of these substances was developed, validated and applied to postmortem samples obtained from 16 relative forensic cases. The sample preparation procedure included the isolation of the analytes from vitreous humor and blood samples using solid-phase extraction, with Bond Elut LRC C18 columns followed by derivatization with BSTFA with 1% TMCS prior to GC/MS analysis.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Results</h3><p>The developed method is characterized by a dynamic range of 10.0–1000.0 ng/mL (<i>R</i>² ≥ 0.991) for the three substances, with a limit of detection and quantification of 3.0 and 10.0 ng/mL, respectively. Accuracy and precision were below 8.09% and 8.99%, respectively, for both biological materials, while absolute recovery for the three substances was greater than 81%. According to the results, quetiapine, 7-hydroxy-quetiapine, and nor-quetiapine are easily distributed in vitreous humor.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Conclusion</h3><p>The results of the study indicate the usefulness of vitreous humor in toxicological analysis for the determination of these substances, especially when the traditional biological materials are not available. The levels of quetiapine and its metabolites in vitreous humor as well as the vitreous humor to blood concentration ratios can provide important information for a more thorough toxicological investigation of forensic cases.</p>","PeriodicalId":12329,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140581039","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Determination of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, 11-nor-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol in human plasma and urine after a commercial cannabidiol oil product intake","authors":"Ioannis Papoutsis, Vasiliki Hatzidouka, Stamatina-Panagoula Ntoupa, Apostolis Angelis, Artemisia Dona, Emmanouil Sakelliadis, Chara Spiliopoulou","doi":"10.1007/s11419-024-00686-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11419-024-00686-0","url":null,"abstract":"<h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Purpose</h3><p>Cannabidiol (CBD) products are widely used for pain relief, sleep improvement, management of seizures etc. Although the concentrations of Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC) in these products are low (≤0.3% w/w), it is important to investigate if its presence and/or that of its metabolite 11-nor-carboxy-Δ⁹-THC, is traceable in plasma and urine samples of individuals who take CBD oil products.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Methods</h3><p>A sensitive GC/MS method for the determination of Δ⁹-THC, 11-nor-carboxy-Δ⁹-THC and CBD in plasma and urine samples was developed and validated. The sample preparation procedure included protein precipitation for plasma samples and hydrolysis for urine samples, solid-phase extraction and finally derivatization with <i>N</i>,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide) with 1% trimethylchlorosilane.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Results</h3><p>For all analytes, the LOD and LOQ were 0.06 and 0.20 ng/mL, respectively. The calibration curves were linear (<i>R</i>² ≥ 0.992), and absolute recoveries were ≥91.7%. Accuracy and precision were within the accepted range. From the analysis of biologic samples of 10 human participants who were taking CBD oil, it was realized that Δ⁹-THC was not detected in urine, while 11-nor-carboxy-Δ⁹-THC (0.69–23.06 ng/mL) and CBD (0.29–96.78 ng/mL) were found in all urine samples. Regarding plasma samples, Δ⁹-THC (0.21–0.62 ng/mL) was detected in 10, 11-nor-carboxy-Δ⁹-THC (0.20–2.44 ng/mL) in 35, while CBD (0.20–1.58 ng/mL) in 25 out of 38 samples, respectively.</p><h3 data-test=\"abstract-sub-heading\">Conclusion</h3><p>The results showed that Δ⁹-THC is likely to be found in plasma although at low concentrations. In addition, the detection of 11-nor-carboxy-Δ⁹-THC in both urine and plasma samples raises questions and concerns for the proper interpretation of toxicological results, especially considering Greece’s zero tolerance law applied in DUID and workplace cases.</p>","PeriodicalId":12329,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140580956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Green analytical toxicology method for determination of synthetic cathinones in oral fluid samples by microextraction by packed sorbent and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.","authors":"Kelly Francisco da Cunha, Karina Diniz Oliveira, Jose Luiz Costa","doi":"10.1007/s11419-023-00671-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11419-023-00671-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>We developed and validated a method for quantitative analysis of ten synthetic cathinones in oral fluid (OF) samples, using microextraction by packed sorbent (MEPS) for sample preparation followed by liquid chromatography‒tandem mass spectrometry (LC‒MS/MS).</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>OF samples were collected with a Quantisal™ device and 200 µL was extracted using a C18 MEPS cartridge installed on a semi-automated pipette and then analyzed using LC‒M/SMS.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Linearity was achieved between 0.1 and 25 ng/mL, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.05 ng/mL and a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.1 ng/mL. Imprecision (% relative standard deviation) and bias (%) were better than 11.6% and 7.5%, respectively. The method had good specificity and selectivity against 9 different blank OF samples (from different donors) and 68 pharmaceutical and drugs of abuse with concentrations varying between 400 and 10,000 ng/mL. No evidence of carryover was observed. The analytes were stable after three freeze/thaw cycles and when kept in the autosampler (10 °C) for up to 24 h. The method was successfully applied to quantify 41 authentic positive samples. Methylone (mean 0.6 ng/mL, median 0.2 ng/mL), N-ethylpentylone (mean 16.7 ng/mL, median 0.35 ng/mL), eutylone (mean 39.1 ng/mL, median 3.6 ng/mL), mephedrone (mean 0.5 ng/mL, median 0.5 ng/mL), and 4-chloroethcathinone (8.1 ng/mL) were quantified in these samples.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>MEPS was an efficient technique for Green Analytical Toxicology purposes, which required only 650 µL organic solvent and 200 µL sodium hydroxide, and the BIN cartridge had a lifespan of 100 sample extractions.</p>","PeriodicalId":12329,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9884617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification of hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), dihydro-iso-tetrahydrocannabinol (dihydro-iso-THC) and hexahydrocannabiphorol (HHCP) in electronic cigarette cartridge products.","authors":"Rie Tanaka, Ruri Kikura-Hanajiri","doi":"10.1007/s11419-023-00667-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11419-023-00667-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Since 2021, products claiming to contain hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) and hexahydrocannabiphorol (HHCP), which are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) analogs, have been distributed via the Internet. Owing to the presence of three asymmetric carbons in their structure, HHC and HHCP have multiple stereoisomers. This study aimed to identify the actual stereoisomers of HHC and HHCP isolated from electronic cigarette cartridge products using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-photodiode array-mass spectrometry (LC-PDA-MS) were used for the analyses of two major peaks and one minor peak in product A and two major peaks in product B. These five compounds were isolated by silica gel column chromatography, and their structures were analyzed by ¹H, ¹³C-NMR and various two-dimensional NMR techniques, i.e., H-H correlation spectroscopy, heteronuclear multiple quantum coherence, heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation, and nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Three compounds isolated from product A were identified as rel-(6aR,9R,10aR)-hexahydrocannabinol (11β-hexahydrocannabinol; 11β-HHC), rel-(6aR,9S,10aR)-hexahydrocannabinol (11α-hexahydrocannabinol, 11α-HHC), and a minor compound (2R,5S,6R)-dihydro-iso-tetrahydrocannabinol (dihydro-iso-THC). Meanwhile, the structural isomers of the major compound isolated from product B were identified as rel-(6aR, 9R, 10aR)-hexahydrocannabiphorol (11β-hexahydrocannabiphorol; 11β-HHCP) and rel-(6aR, 9S, 10aR)-hexahydrocannabiphorol (11α-hexahydrocannabiphorol; 11α-HHCP).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The presence of both 11β-HHC and 11α-HHC in the HHC products analyzed in this study suggests that they were most likely synthesized via the reduction reaction of Δ⁸-THC or Δ⁹-THC. Dihydro-iso-THC was probably obtained as a byproduct of the synthesis of Δ⁸-THC or Δ⁹-THC from cannabidiol. Similarly, 11β-HHCP and 11α-HHCP in the HHCP product could stem from Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabiphorol.</p>","PeriodicalId":12329,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9680265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of temperature, humidity, light, and soil on drug stability in hair: a preliminary study for estimating personal profiles using micro-segmental analysis of corpse hair.","authors":"Kenji Kuwayama, Hajime Miyaguchi, Tatsuyuki Kanamori, Kenji Tsujikawa, Tadashi Yamamuro, Hiroki Segawa, Yuki Okada, Yuko T Iwata","doi":"10.1007/s11419-023-00675-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s11419-023-00675-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Micro-segmental hair analysis (MSA), which enables detailed measurement of the distribution of drugs in a single hair strand, is useful for examining the day of death and drug use history of a person. However, corpses are often found in severe environments, such as soil and freezers, which affect the drug contents in hair. Therefore, we examined the effects of temperature, humidity, light, and soil on drug stability in hair as a preliminary study to estimate personal profiles using MSA of corpse hair.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Four hay-fever medicines (fexofenadine, epinastine, cetirizine, and desloratadine) were used as model drugs to evaluate drug stability in hair. Reference hair strands consistently containing the four medicines along the hair shaft were collected from patients with hay-fever who ingested the medicines daily for 4 months. The hair strands were placed in chambers with controlled temperatures (- 30 to 60 °C) and relative humidities (ca. 18 % and > 90 %), exposed to light (sunlight and artificial lights) or buried in soil (natural soil and compost).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Sunlight and soil greatly decomposed the hair surfaces and decreased the drug contents in hair (up to 37 %). However, all analytes were successfully detected along the hair shaft, reflecting the intake history, even when the hair was exposed to sunlight for 2 weeks and buried in the soil for 2 months.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although the exposure to sunlight and storage in soil for long times made drug-distribution analysis difficult, MSA could be applied even to hair strands collected from corpses left in severe environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":12329,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Toxicology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10808216/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138487121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}