Forensic Toxicology

We report a case of seized methamphetamine (MA) samples showing unique profiles of stable isotopic compositions. Three packages
of MA-HCl samples seized simultaneously from one suspect were subjected to gas chromatographic impurity profiling and stable
isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). The samples showed similar impurity profiles by gas chromatography, but their stable
isotopic compositions were complicated. The δ15N values of the samples from each package varied widely when the crystals were analyzed separately; we could differentiate
two major groups labeled I and II, and also their subgroups. Each of the three packages contained MA-HCl crystals belonging
to multiple groups and subgroups. It was considered that several batches of MA-HCl with starting materials from different
...

Abstract  The detection performance of a portable ion mobility spectrometer (IMS) (SABRE 4000, Smiths Detection) with 63Ni ionization, air purification, and reduced ion mobility measurements using calibrants was investigated for vapors of chemical
warfare agents. In a matter of several seconds, the SABRE 4000 enabled tentative identification of sarin, soman, cyclohexylsarin,
tabun, and nitrogen mustard 3, each with a limit of alarm (LOA) of 0.005–0.5 mg mâ�?’3 in positive ion collection mode. Hydrogen cyanide could be identified with a LOA of 0.2 mg mâ�?’3 in the negative mode. Mustard gas, nitrogen mustards 1, 2, and 3, phosgene, and chloropicrin showed a positive alarm of “HD/Phos”
with a LOA of 0.2–2 mg mâ�?’3 in negative mode. Lewisite 1, cyanogen chloride, and chlori...

Abstract  A 26-year-old woman under the influence of alcohol assaulted another person at a party in late November 2008. Afterward, she
claimed that her drink was spiked with Ritalin, which would account for her bizarre behavior. Neither urine nor blood was
sampled, because of the elapsed time after the incident. Hair was collected in late February 2009 and sent to our laboratory
for methylphenidate testing. The hair strand was decontaminated twice using methylene chloride and then segmented. Each segment
was cut into small pieces and about 30 mg was incubated in an ultrasonic bath for 3 h in buffer solution at pH 5.5 in the
presence of 100 ng of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-d
5 used as internal standard (IS). Each mixture was neutralized with NaOH and extracted ...

In this study, we focused on a herbal product being sold as incense, which showed unknown components by liquid chromatography-mass
spectrometry (LC-MS). The product did not show any peak corresponding to the above synthetic cannabinoids, but seven other
peaks were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography and LC-MS. We identified them as N-methyltyramine (1), (R)-normacromerine (2), (R)-macromerine (3), (S)-vasicine (4), mescaline (5), harmaline (6), and harmine (7) by polarimetry, LC-MS, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance
spectroscopy. We also used DNA sequence analyses to identify the plant species of the product. As a result of the sequencing
of trnL-F, internal transcribed spacer (ITS), and rpl16 intron...

Abstract  An entire procedure for simultaneous analysis of α-amanitin, β-amanitin, and phalloidin in mushrooms by liquid chromatography
(LC) electrospray ionization (ESI) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) has been optimized and established. We used
a hydrophilic interaction column TSK-gel Amide-80 3 μm for LC separation, which enabled the simultaneous detection of the
three toxins and internal standard microcystin RR. After homogenizing mushroom debris with methanol acidified with trifluoroacetic
acid, the extract solution was subjected to solid-phase extraction with an Oasis HLB cartridge. The eluate was applied to
the LC-ESI-TOF MS instrument. The calibration curves for the three toxins showed good linearity over the range of 100–1000
ng/g. The detection li...

Abstract  Blonanserin is a novel antipsychotic agent having dopamine D2 and serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonist properties. In this communication, a simple method for analysis of blonanserin in human plasma by gas
chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) using hexobarbital as internal standard (IS) is presented. One milliliter of plasma
containing blonanserin and 50 ng of IS was mixed well with 0.5 ml of 0.1 M hydrochloric acid and 2.5 ml of distilled water;
the mixture was applied to an Oasis HLB cartridge. The cartridge was washed with 5 ml of distilled water, and the target compound
and IS were eluted with 2 ml of chloroform. The eluate was evaporated to dryness under a stream of nitrogen. The residue was
reconstituted in 50 μl of methanol for use in GC-MS analysis. The...

Drug overdose vs. pre-existing health problems: Physicians disagree

According to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, actress Brittany Murphy’s cause of death was pneumonia and her death was ruled accidental. Her family stated that she had flu-like symptoms and that she was taking prescription medication. The combination of her health condition, anemia and [...]

Abstract  Hallucinogenic tryptamine analogues, an important class of drugs of abuse, can be naturally occurring or chemically synthesized
compounds. In Japan, psilocin and psilocybin (ingredients of “magic mushrooms”) and 5-methoxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (5-MeO-DIPT; a synthetic tryptamine) seem to be particularly problematic due to their extensive abuse.
This review is focused on human metabolism and forensic toxicological analyses of the above three tryptamine analogues. In
humans, psilocybin is rapidly dephosphorylated to form psilocin, and most of the psilocin is eventually conjugated to form
its glucuronide. On the other hand, 5-MeO-DIPT is mainly metabolized via O-demethylation, 6-hydroxylation, and N-deisopropylation, partly followed by conjugation to form their...

Abstract  Patterns of poisoning are known to be different in different countries, because of the local environmental, cultural, and
religious situations. Therefore, in Japan, it is important to know the pattern of poisoning in our own country and to prepare
for every poisoning case by establishing an efficient systematic toxicological analysis system in forensic practice. We conducted
a retrospective study of the kinds of compounds causing poisonings and the frequency of their use based on two series of reports
dealing with poisoning cases in Japan prepared by the National Research Institute of Police Science and the Japanese Society
of Legal Medicine for 2003 to 2006. From these reports, 459 and 177 compounds, respectively, were extracted as poisonous compounds
over the st...

Abstract  Six novel hallucinogens classed as (tetrahydrobenzodifuranyl) aminoalkanes or (benzodifuranyl)aminoalkanes, which are known
by the common names of “FLY” and “DragonFLY,” respectively, were synthesized. These compounds were simultaneously analyzed
by gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry (MS), liquid chromatography (LC)-MS, and LC-MS-MS. GCMS analysis of their free
bases was not satisfactory for both mass spectral and chromatographic measurements, and thus trifluoroacetyl (TFA) derivatization
was employed. However, it was found that the usual TFA derivatization procedure using trifluoroacetic anhydride caused dehydrogenation
of FLYs to the corresponding DragonFLYs. Therefore, TFA derivatization of FLYs was reinvestigated; the presence of triethylamine
c...