Forensic Toxicology Flashcards
What is toxicology?
The study of drugs and chemicals on biological systems
what is forensic toxicology?
Application of toxicology to cases and issues where adverse effects of the use of impairing, toxic, and lethal concentrations of drugs have adminsitrative or medicolegal consequences
science+law
What areas may forensic toxicologists work in
Medical examiner labs
Crime labs
military/ government facilities
Private sector facilities
Hospitals
Universities
Industries
What is the largest lab for forensic toxicology?
NMS
Did tox for OJ, michael jackson, jon bent, etc.
Pharmacology defined
study of the effects of drugs on humans
Drug defined
chemical designed to have a biochemical or physiological effect
poison defined
Substance with life-threatening effect
metabolite defined
Chemically changed form of drug or poison
Pharmacokinetics
Branch of pharmacology concerned with the movement of drugs throughout the body
What the body does to the drug
Pharmacodynamics
Study of how drugs act in the body
What the drug does to the body
What does “ADME” stand for?
Absoprtion, distribution, metabolism, excretion
descrobes the dispotition of a pharmaceutical compound with an organizm
all influence the drug levels and kinetics of drug exposure to the tissues
influence the performance and pharmacological activity of the compound of a drug
Absorption
process of a drug being put into the body
Small intestine
Stomach: more acidic absorption
Distribution
drugs making their way through the body
Metabolism
transferring drugs to a hydrophilic state in order to rid them of the body
Excretion
drugs are no longer in the body, the process in which drugs leave the body
What does a postmortem forensic toxicologist do?
Death investigation
Goal: were drugs the cause or contributing factor in death?
Forensic pathologist
Explain what caused each death
Determine manner of death
MASH
Forensic toxicologist
Assists by performing comprehensive analyses of a wide variety of toxins from a wide variety of tissue sources
Usually done with blood, urine, SPF, bile
What are the three main areas of forensic tox?
postmortem forensic toxicology
forensic drug toxicology
human performance tox
forensic drug toxicology
Workplace drug testing
Testing urine/ blood (biofluids) from employees or job applicants
Law usually allows for random drug testing only if they have certain occupatoins
Teachers
Customs
Police officers
Typically allowed when public safety is above the right to privacy
Record keeping, CoC, data management, all extremely important here
compliance monitoring
doping
Human performance toxicology
Drug and steroid use in sports
Effects of drugs and alcohol on human performance and behavior
Involved in an array of criminal investigations:
Impaired driving
Vehicular assault/ homicide
Child custody/ abuse
Drug-facilitated crimes (ex: sexual assault)
Mainly blood and urine samples
How is tox performed?
Isolation
Detection and Characterization (screening)
Identification
Quantification
Interpretation
Isoloation defined
Isolate from the matrix (blood, urine, etc.)
Detection and characterization (screening)
Compare with quality controls and drug libraries
Identification defined
See what is present and then screen against other things
Quantification defined
Seeing how much was present in the sample
Interpretation
what it sounds like
What do opiates do?
Depressant
Reduces muscle activity and slows heartrate
Overdoses are super common because of how it messes with your breathing
Narcotic drugs derived from the opium plant
Causes profound euphoria
Relieves pain
Examples of opiates
Morphine
Codeine
Herion
Fentnyl
What do amphetamines do?
Stimulant
creates an excitatory condition, state of wakefulness, euphoria
Methamphetamine
- Synthesized easily by clandestine labs
- Starts with ephedrine (government limited the sale)
examples of amphetamines
meth
Cocaine
Derived from erythroxylin cocoa plant
Creates excitatory condition, state of wakefulness, and euphoria
Stimulant
Crack cocaine and free base can be smoked
Cannabinoids
Marijuana
Tetrahydrocannabinol THC- active agent
Cannabis (2-6% THC)
Hashish (12%) - Oily extract
Euphoria, perceptive alterations, memory impairment
Mood swings, hallucinations- moderate usage
Delusions, paranoia - heavy usage
Alcohol
Ethanol- beverage alcohol
methanol/ isopropanol- found in workplace and can cause human injury
Beverage alcohol enters blood mainly from small intestine
Legal limit for driving in the US = 0.08%
Approximate rule: one 12 oz can of beet or one cocktail raises blood cn
Clearance rate is 1 drink per hour
Cyanide
Highly toxic chemical, especially in the form of gas (hydrogen cyanide)
Death occurs quickly
Immunoassays
Antibodies are used- enable reagents to react only with a substance that recognizes the antibody
Objective, relatively specific, compatible
What does TLC stand for?
Thin Layer Chromatography
What is Thin Layer Chromotography?
Specimen extracted into an organic solvent and spotted onto a glass plate coated with silica
