Journal of Analytical Toxicology

Illegal amphetamine is usually composed of a racemic mixture of the two enantiomers (S)- and (R)-amphetamine. When amphetamine is used in medical treatment, however, the more potent (S)-amphetamine enantiomer is used. Enantiomer specific analysis of (S)- and (R)-amphetamine is therefore used to separate legal medical use from illegal recreational use. The aim of the present study was to describe our experience with enantiomer specific analysis of amphetamine in urine and oral fluid, as well as blood, and examine whether the distribution of the two enantiomers seems to be the same in the different matrices...

Total Blood Carbon Monoxide (TBCO) showed promising results in improving accuracy of CO determinations in blood and presenting better stability to different storage conditions. Therefore, it was proposed as alternative biomarker to carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) for CO poisoning diagnosis. However, given that current interpretation reference values exist for COHb only, it is difficult to implement TBCO analysis in routine. Therefore, we aimed at determining TBCO reference values for postmortem CO poisoning cases...

2-Phenoxyethanol (PhE) is widely used as a preservative in consumer products such as cosmetics as well as at the workplace as a component of metal-working fluids and hydraulic fluids. Therefore, both industry workers and consumers may potentially be exposed to PhE. An analytical method for the quantification of PhE and three selected metabolites, namely phenoxyacetic acid (PhAA), 4-hydroxyphenoxyacetic acid (4-OH-PhAA), and 4-hydroxyphenoxyethanol (4-OH-PhE) in human urine and blood was developed and validated...

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) serves all 95 counties of Tennessee, but the data included in this article is primarily focused in upper east and east Tennessee (the parts of the state included in the eastern time zone). The forensic chemistry [seized drug] unit of the TBI began reporting nitazene analogues in late 2019. The primary analogues found in forensic chemistry cases were isotonitazene and metonitazene. After discussion and review of reporting statistics, the forensic toxicology unit began to monitor for these compounds in toxicology samples by using ions characteristic with the nitazene analogues...

Drug impaired driving is an increasing public safety concern across Canada, particularly due to the demonstrated increase in use of recreational drugs such as cocaine. Cocaine is a central nervous system stimulant drug; however, it can impair an individual's driving ability in both the stimulant and crash phases. Despite the scientific consensus regarding cocaine's potential for driving impairment, there is relatively little information available regarding blood concentrations and associated observations of impairment in suspected impaired drivers...

With a wider availability of synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoids in the consumer space, there is a growing impact on public health and safety. Forensic toxicology laboratories should keep these compounds in mind as they attempt to remain effective in screening for potential sources of human performance impairment. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a commonly utilized tool in forensic toxicology, as its efficiency and sensitivity make it useful for rapid and easy screening for a large number of drugs...

Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) was first reported in the EU in May 2022. HHC has three chiral carbon atoms, but only (6aR,9R,10aR)-HHC (9R-HHC) and (6aR,9S,10aR)-HHC (9S-HHC) have been encountered in HHC products. The goal of this study was to develop and validate a method for the quantitative analysis of 9R-HHC, 9S-HHC, 11-OH-9R-HHC, 9R-HHC-COOH, 9S-HHC-COOH, and 8-OH-9R-HHC. In addition, an objective was to investigate the immunochemical cross reactivity. Blood samples from DUID-cases screened positive for cannabis using ELISA and confirmed negative for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), 11-hydroxy-THC, and THC-COOH were reanalyzed with a newly validated HHC method to investigate the presence of HHC and metabolites...

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11-Nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THCCOOH) is the most frequently detected illicit drug metabolite in the military drug testing program. An increasing number of specimens containing unresolved Δ8-THCCOOH prompted the addition of this analyte to the Department of Defense (DoD) drug testing panel. A method was developed and validated for the quantitative confirmation of the carboxylated metabolites of Δ8- and Δ9-THC in urine samples utilizing automated pipette tip dispersive solid phase extraction and analysis by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)...

Monofluoroacetate (MFA) is a highly lethal toxin which causes death by inhibiting cellular ATP production. The heart and brain are the primary target organs. Acute death is attributed to cardiac fibrillation and/or convulsions. Although it occurs naturally in some plants, a major source of animal intoxication is access to sodium monofluoroacetate (NaMFA) pesticide which continues to be a concern in the US and around the world despite restricted use in some countries including the US. There are also concerns about misuse of this pesticide for malicious poisoning...

Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), 6,6,9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6a,7,8,9,10,10a-hexahydrobenzo[c]chromen-1-ol, is a semi-synthetic cannabinoid that has presented challenges to analytical laboratories due to its emergence and spread in the drug market. The lack of information on human pharmacokinetics hinders the development and application of presumptive and confirmatory tests for reliably detecting HHC consumption. To address this knowledge gap, we report the analytical results obtained from systematic forensic toxicological analysis of body-fluid samples collected from three individuals suspected of drug-impaired driving after HHC consumption...

The North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner regularly assumes jurisdiction over deaths that are suspicious, unusual, or unattended by a medical professional. In recent years, the presence of counterfeit pills is occasionally suggested by investigatory notes and/or scene findings that document reported consumption of prescription drugs, or prescription drugs on scene, which are not reflected in the final autopsy findings after toxicological analysis of the decedent's blood samples. Counterfeit pill consumption is a major public health hazard worthy of attention from the forensic toxicology community...

Since the 2000s, an increasing number of new psychoactive substances have appeared on the illicit drug market. β-keto-arylcyclohexylamine compounds play important pharmacological roles in anesthesia; however, because these new psychoactive substances have rapidly increasing illicit recreational use, the lack of detailed toxicity data are of particular concern. Therefore, analysis of their metabolites can help forensic personnel provide references and suggestions on whether a suspect has taken an illicit new psychoactive β-keto-arylcyclohexylamine...

2-Fluorodeschloroketamine (2-FDCK) is a new psychoactive substance (NPS), close to the ketamine structure. Few cases of 2-FDCK intake are described in the forensic literature, especially concerning death cases. We report here a case of self-mutilation (Case 1) and two forensic deaths linked to 2-FDCK consumption. The second case involved a man found dead in the street, having been stabbed. The third case was a man found dead following a suspected overdose and in an advanced state of putrefaction. For all three cases, biological fluids such as blood and urine were analyzed, as was hair for the two fatal cases...

The general use of cocaine is increasing in recent years, while the trend for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is less clear. The relationship between blood concentrations and impairment is poorly understood, which complicates interpretation. The aims of this study were to report prevalence and blood concentrations of cocaine and MDMA in drugged drivers, and to investigate the relationship between blood concentrations and impairment. Samples of whole blood were collected from apprehended drivers in the period 2000-2022, and a clinical test of impairment (CTI) was simultaneously performed...

A novel analytical method was developed for the simultaneous quantification of the R/S-enantiomers of amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDA and MDMA in hair samples using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). This method involved a straightforward derivatization step with dansyl chloride and the use of a chiral column, enabling the separation and quantification of all eight enantiomers in a single analysis. The method exhibited excellent linearity across a concentration range of 0.03-3.00 ng/mg for each enantiomer...

Urinalysis of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) poses a challenge due to its rapid metabolism, resulting in little to no LSD detectable in urine. Instead, its primary metabolite, 2-oxo-3-hydroxy-LSD, is predominantly detected. In this study, we observed several urine profiles with iso-LSD detected together with 2-oxo-3-hydroxy-LSD. Iso-LSD is derived from illicit preparation of LSD as a major contaminant, and it was detected at higher abundance than LSD and 2-oxo-3-hydroxy-LSD in certain urine samples. Therefore, the metabolism of iso-LSD and its potential as a viable urinary biomarker for confirming LSD consumption is of interest...

Illicit drug use is a serious and complex public health problem, not only due to the severity of the health damage but also to the social implications, such as marginalization and drug trafficking. Currently, cocaine (COC) is among the most abused drugs worldwide with about 22 million users. Drug abuse has also been found in women during the pregnancy period, which has shed light on a new group for epidemiology. The diagnosis of COC use in these cases usually depends largely on the mother's reports, which in several cases omit or deny consumption...

The recent change from the popular carboxamide to an acetamide (ATA) linker scaffold in synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) can be interpreted as an attempt to circumvent legal regulations, setting new analytical challenges. Metabolites of N-cyclohexyl-2-(1-pentyl-1H-indol-3-yl)acetamide: CH-PIATA, the second ATA type SCRA detected in the EU, were investigated in urine and serum samples by LC-HRMS-MS and LC-MS-MS. Two different in vitro models: a pHLM assay and HepG2-cells as well as an in silico prediction by GLORYx freeware assisted in metabolite formation/identification...

The antiviral drug acyclovir (ACV) may induce drug-induced neuropsychiatric symptoms as side effects. The detailed pathogenic mechanism remains unclear; however, it is hypothesized that 9-carboxymethoxymethylguanine (CMMG), a metabolite of ACV, is the causative compound. Therefore, the blood concentrations of ACV and CMMG should be analyzed in ACV toxicity studies. However, it is rare to find methods that can sufficiently separate the ACV and CMMG peaks during simultaneous analysis of both compounds. Therefore, we intended to develop a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method with improved peak separation of analytes...