1 / 31

FORENSIC SCIENCE Toxicology

FORENSIC SCIENCE Toxicology. TOXICOLOGY. TYPES: Environmental--air, water, soil Consumer--foods, cosmetics, drugs Medical, clinical, forensic. Forensic Toxicology. Postmortem--medical examiner or coroner Criminal--motor vehicle accidents (MVA), assault, etc. Workplace drug testing

sammiet
Download Presentation

FORENSIC SCIENCE Toxicology

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. FORENSIC SCIENCEToxicology

  2. TOXICOLOGY TYPES: • Environmental--air, water, soil • Consumer--foods, cosmetics, drugs • Medical, clinical, forensic

  3. Forensic Toxicology • Postmortem--medical examiner or coroner • Criminal--motor vehicle accidents (MVA), assault, etc. • Workplace drug testing • Sports--human and animal

  4. Why do Toxicology? Toxicology can: • Be a cause of death • Contribute to death • Cause impairment • Explain behavior

  5. OUR STUDY • Drugs • Poisons Basically, toxicology involves the separation, detection, identification and measurement of the drug and/or poison.

  6. Testing • PDR’s--Physician’s Desk Reference • Field Tests--presumptive tests • Lab Tests--conclusive tests

  7. PDR’s

  8. Analysis of Drugs • Controlled Substances Act • Schedule I--heroin, LSD • Schedule II--morphine, methadone • Schedule III--barbiturates, amphetamines • Schedule IV--other stimulates and depressants • Schedule V--codeine

  9. Screening tests or presumptive tests Color tests Microcrystalline test--a reagent is added that produces a crystalline precipitate which are unique for certain drugs. Confirmation tests Chromatography Spectrophotometry Mass spectrometry DRUG IDENTIFICATION

  10. Presumptive Color Tests • Marquis--turns purple in the presence of most opium derivatives and orange-brown with amphetamines • Dillie-Koppanyi--turns violet-blue in the presence of barbiturates

  11. Presumptive Color Tests • Duquenois-Levine--turns a purple color in the presence of marijuana • Van Urk--turns a blue-purple in the presence of LSD • Scott test--color test for cocaine

  12. Confirmation TestsChromatography • Techniques for separating mixtures into their component compounds • Includes two phases--one mobile and one stationary that flow past one another • As the mixture separates it interacts with the two phases.

  13. Types of Chromatography • Paper • Thin Layer • Gas • Pyrolysis Gas • High Pressure Liquid (HPLC)

  14. Paper Chromatography • Stationary phase--paper • Mobile phase--a liquid solvent Capillary action moves the mobile phase through the stationary phase

  15. Thin Layer Chromatography • Stationary phase--a thin layer of coating on a sheet of plastic or glass (usually aluminum or silica) • Mobile phase--a liquid solvent from www.lbp.police.uk

  16. Retention Factor (Rf) • This is a number that represents how far a compound travels in a particular solvent • It is determined by measuring the distance the compound traveled and dividing it by the distance the solvent traveled.

  17. Retention Factor (Rf) If the Rf value for an unknown compound is close to or the same as that for the known compound, the two compounds are most likely similar or identical (a match)

  18. Gas Chromatography • Stationary phase--a solid or very syrupy liquid lines a tube or column • Mobile phase--an inert gas like nitrogen or helium

  19. GC Analysis • Shows a peak that is proportional to the quantity of the substance present • Uses retention time instead of Rf for the quantitative analysis

  20. Retention Time • Time between the sample being injected and when it exits the column reaching the detector. • Tm is the time taken for the mobile phase to pass through the column

  21. Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography • Used when a sample does not readily dissolve in a solvent • If heating this sample decomposes it into gaseous products, these products can be analyzed by CGC • A pyrogram is the visual representation of the results

  22. High Pressure LiquidChromatography • Stationary phase--fine solid particles • Mobile phase--a liquid solvent A solvent is pumped through the column as a sample is injected into it. The sample, as it moves, is slowed to differing degrees, depending on its interaction with the stationary phase. Different components of the sample mixture are, therefore, separated.

  23. Mass Spectrometry Gas chromatography has one major drawback--it does not give a specific identification. By teaming a gas chromatograph with a mass spectrometer, this is accomplished. The mixture is separated first in a gas chromatograph. The GC column is directly attached to the mass spectrometer where a beam of electrons is shot through the sample molecules.

  24. MS (cont.) The electrons cause the molecules to lose electrons and become positively charged. These are unstable and decompose into many smaller fragments. These fragments pass through an electric or magnetic field and are separated according to their masses. NO TWO SUBSTANCES PRODUCE THE SAME FRAGMENTATION PATTERN.

  25. Example of a GS/MS

  26. Blood Urine Vitreous Bile Liver tissue Brain tissue Kidney tissue Spleen tissue Human Analysisfor Drugs

  27. “If all those buried in our cemeteries who were poisoned could raise their hands, we would probably be shocked by the numbers. --John Trestrail

  28. POISONERS in HISTORY • Olympias—a famous Greek poisoner • Locusta—personal poisoner of Emperor Nero • Lucretia Borgia—father was Pope Alexander VI • Madame Giulia Toffana—committed over 600 successful poisonings, including two Popes. • Hieronyma Spara—formed a society to teach women how to murder their husbands • Madame de Brinvilliers and Catherine Deshayes—French poisoners. AND many others through modern times.

  29. Symptoms of VariousTypes of Poisoning Type of Poison Symptom/Evidence • Caustic Poison (lye) Characteristic burns around the lips and mouth of the victim • Carbon Monoxide Red or pink patches on the chest and thighs. Unusually brighter red lividity • Sulfuric acid Black vomit • Hydrochloric acid Greenish-brown vomit • Nitric acid Yellow vomit • Phosphorous Coffee brown vomit. Onion or garlic odor • Cyanide Burnt almond odor • Arsenic, Mercury Pronounced diarrhea • Methyl (wood) or Nausea and vomiting, Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol unconsciousness, possibly blindness

  30. Form Common color Characteristic odor Solubility Taste Common sources Lethal dose Mechanism Possible methods of administration Time interval of onset of symptoms. Symptoms resulting from an acute exposure Symptoms resulting from chronic exposure Disease states mimicked by poisoning Notes relating to the victim Specimens from victim Analytical detection methods Known toxic levels Notes pertinent to analysis of poison List of cases in which poison was used Points to Know about aPoison from “Criminal Poisoning” by John Trestrail

  31. Evidence • Class Presumptive or screening tests can be used to determine that it is a drug. • Individual Chromatography, especially in conjunction with mass spectrometry, will specifically identify a drug or poison and its components.

More Related