Forensic Toxicology: Biological Sampling and Development of Analytical Techniques

A special issue of Separations (ISSN 2297-8739). This special issue belongs to the section "Forensics/Toxins".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2024) | Viewed by 1800

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Section of Legal Medicine, Social Security and Forensic Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
Interests: forensic toxicology; gas chromatography (GC); liquid chromatography (LC); mass spectrometry (MS); legal medicine; criminalistics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, forensic toxicology has become a reference discipline in cases of judicial and medico legal interest. The broad field of application of forensic toxicology includes workplace testing, identification of drugs and alcohol in biological matrices in cases of impaired driving (DUI), doping control of athletes, analysis of seized drugs and post-mortem investigation. In addition, technologies applied in forensic toxicology have a great impact on addressing the effects of environmental pollution, mainly related to the bioaccumulation of toxic metals, on human health.

A crucial aspect of toxicological investigations is the use appropriate sampling procedures for biological matrices. All of the specimens should be collected under a chain of custody and handled in order to avoid adulteration, contamination and degradation of the samples. Without these operative procedures, toxicological findings cannot be used for forensic purposes and will lose their probative value, making them worthless in Court.

The mission of a forensic toxicologist is also to produce accurate and reliable data, developing fast and sensitive analytical methods for the simultaneous identification and quantification of a large number of drugs and metabolites, leading to correct data interpretation. Current methodological analyses include chromatographic techniques coupled with mass spectrometry (e.g. GC/MS-UHPLC/MS-MS) for the identification and quantification of drugs, pharmaceuticals and psychotropic substances. Recently, high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) approaches using time-of-flight or Orbitrap techniques increased the field of application of forensic toxicology, leading to more in-depth studies of drug metabolism, especially in cases of suspected intoxication by new psychoactive substances (NPS). Specifically, LC-HRMS plays an important role in the studies of the chemical structure of the phase I and phase II metabolites, as it is characterized by a higher selectivity and specificity and better sensitivity. This technique also enables the measurement of the elemental composition of molecules or fragments produced during ionisation, leading to the identification of the type of molecular structural changes of the metabolites, and in some cases, it also allows the characterization of the position of the chemical modifications in a particular part of the molecule. In forensic toxicology, these are some of the most used and reliable methods of analysis, both in the ante-mortem and post-mortem investigations.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue of Separations on forensic toxicology, which will be focused on the importance of biological specimens sampling, with particular attention to ante-mortem and post-mortem collection, the influence of suitable devices in pre-analytical phase and the development and the implementation of analytical methods for the detection of toxic substances including new psychoactive molecules, toxic metals and pollutants.

In this Special Issue, case reports, original research articles and reviews are particularly welcomed.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Luigi Tonino Marsella
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • GC-MS
  • LC-MS/MS
  • forensic toxicology
  • HRMS
  • chain of custody
  • specimen collection
  • alternative matrices
  • heavy metals
  • biological samples
  • drug seizures

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 5134 KiB  
Article
Applications of Sample Preparation Techniques in the Analysis of New Psychoactive Substances
by Lorna A. Nisbet, Fiona M. Wylie and Karen S. Scott
Separations 2024, 11(9), 258; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11090258 - 30 Aug 2024
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Abstract
The global rise of new psychoactive substances (NPSs) poses challenges for their analysis in biological matrices due to their complex chemistries and short market lifespan. A comparative study for the simultaneous extraction, separation, and detection of 19 NPSs was conducted. Six solid-phase extraction [...] Read more.
The global rise of new psychoactive substances (NPSs) poses challenges for their analysis in biological matrices due to their complex chemistries and short market lifespan. A comparative study for the simultaneous extraction, separation, and detection of 19 NPSs was conducted. Six solid-phase extraction (SPE) methods and one supported liquid extraction method (SLE) were compared for the extraction of analytes from blood, serum, plasma, and urine. Comparisons of four derivatization agents were conducted, at four temperatures and two incubation times. Extraction methods were assessed by precision, sensitivity, and extraction efficiency. Derivatizing agents were assessed on their selectivity and sensitivity, and a three-way ANOVA was conducted to determine statistical significance. CSDAU SPE cartridges were shown to be the most efficient when extracting analytes from blood, serum, and plasma, whereas Xcel I cartridges performed the strongest when extracting analytes from urine. SPE extraction efficiencies, when utilizing the best-performing cartridges, ranged from 49 to 119%. SLE successfully extracted all analytes from all matrices (ranging from 22 to 120%). Pentafluoropropionic anhydride: ethyl acetate was the most successful derivatizing agent, allowing all analytes to be detected, with the highest peak area responses and more unique spectra. The optimum temperature for incubation was 37 °C, with no statistical difference found between the two incubation times. Full article
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14 pages, 2068 KiB  
Article
The Prevalence of Benzodiazepine Use among Italian Drivers in 15,988 Cases of Driving License Regranting from 2015 to 2023: Risks and Implications for Driving Fitness
by Lucrezia Stefani, Federico Mineo, Leonardo Romani, Francesca Vernich, Carmelo Russo, Luigi Tonino Marsella and Roberta Tittarelli
Separations 2024, 11(6), 169; https://doi.org/10.3390/separations11060169 - 29 May 2024
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Abstract
The use of benzodiazepines is strongly associated with an increased risk of traffic accidents due to their side effects of sedation and drowsiness, which can significantly impair driving performance. The main aim of our study was to investigate the trend of benzodiazepine use [...] Read more.
The use of benzodiazepines is strongly associated with an increased risk of traffic accidents due to their side effects of sedation and drowsiness, which can significantly impair driving performance. The main aim of our study was to investigate the trend of benzodiazepine use over nine years (2015–2023) in a population of 15,988 subjects who had their license suspended for driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or drugs. Among the 15,988 users accessed to our laboratory, 924 tested positive for at least one benzodiazepine. An increase in the number of positive-testing users was observed in the period 2015–2018, followed by a slight decrease in 2019. Overall, the trend of benzodiazepine use was stable over the next four years (2020–2023), with the highest incidence in 2022. The most common benzodiazepines, and/or metabolites, found in urine samples were α-OH-alprazolam (28.66%; n = 366) and oxazepam (27.25%; n = 348). Several cases of mixed positivity were observed in the study population. The main substances taken with benzodiazepines were cocaine and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Our findings suggest that people taking benzodiazepines should be monitored, as these have a relevant impact on driving ability in addition to significant interindividual differences in the behavioral effects of benzodiazepines on driving performance. Full article
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