The primary goal of the forensic drug examiner is the unequivocal identification of any controlled substance present in a drug exhibit. Most forensic laboratories routinely employ Gas Chromatography/ Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) as the preferred method for this examination. The technique provides a rapid, semi-automated analysis of the sample and typically yields sufficient information to identify the compounds in question. However, the application of GC/MS for drug analysis does have its limitations. Certain drugs yield minimal mass spectral fragmentation patterns using electron impact MS, while other compounds, such as some diastereomers and positional isomers, are not readily differentiated technique to mass spectroscopy. Infrared spectroscopy (IR, meaning FTIR) provides an alternate technique to mass spectroscopy for the identification of organic compounds. Recent improvements in the hyphenated technique, Gas Chromatography/Infrared Spectroscopy (GC/IR) may provide a simple alternative or supplemental approach to GC/MS for identification of certain compounds. A newly introduced instrument collects GC effluent on a liquid nitrogen cooled, IR transparent window that allows the direct analysis of the deposited solid material. This technique is superior to the IR light pipe in sensitivity, IR spectral quality, and allows direct comparison of the collected spectra to existing IR databases. Our research developed procedures and protocols for the analysis of drugs and determined the benefits and limitations of this technology. The research focused on the routine identification of commonly encountered drugs, designer drugs, closely related drug isomers, as well as the fundamentals of the gas chromatography and infrared systems. Statement of purpose: The research was undertaken to develop this technology into a viable technique for the forensic community. The instrument was studied for repeatability, sensitivity, and selectivity while optimizing for analysis of a wide range of drug samples. Based upon this work the instrument proved to be a powerful forensic tool providing complimentary data to GC/MS. Acceptable levels of sensitivity, linearity, and reproducibility were achieved using the GC split-less injection mode. Concern about cross contamination of samples on the collection disk were dispelled as the deposited GC vapor produced solid "tracks" that were unique to each sample and appropriately documented by the instrument. Analytical methods were developed for the routine analyses of drugs and synthetic cannabinoids. Through these studies the instrument was verified for casework analysis and is presently in operational use in our laboratory. Software limitations hindered research progress, although software and hardware upgrades were made by the vendor (Spectra Analysis) some of which were driven by feedback provided by staff at the Vermont Forensic Laboratory (VFL).

Provides a self-teaching reference text for forensic chemistry laboratories and law enforcement agencies world-wide. The text includes sections on the importance of physical examinations of drugs and their wrappings; and the use of gas and high-performance chromatography.

The Handbook of Forensic Drug Analysis is a comprehensive chemical and analytic reference for the forensic analysis of illicit drugs. With chapters written by leading researchers in the field, the book provides in-depth, up-to-date methods and results of forensic drug analyses. This Handbook discusses various forms of the drug as well as the origin and nature of samples. It explains how to perform various tests, the use of best practices, and the analysis of results. Numerous forensic and chemical analytic techniques are covered including immunoassay, gas chromatography, and mass spectrometry. Topics range from the use of immunoassay technologies for drugs-of-abuse testing, to methods of forensic analysis for cannabis, hallucinogens, cocaine, opioids, and amphetamine. The book also looks at synthetic methods and law enforcement concerns regarding the manufacture of illicit drugs, with an emphasis on clandestine methamphetamine production. This Handbook should serve as a widely used reference for forensic scientists, toxicologists, pharmacologists, drug companies, and professionals working in toxicology testing labs, libraries, and poison control centers. It may also be used by chemists, physicians and those in legal and regulatory professions, and students of graduate courses in forensic science. - Contributed to by leading scientists from around the world - The only analysis book dedicated to illicit drugs of abuse - Comprehensive coverage of sampling methods and various forms of analysis

This volume features a comprehensive set of protocols featuring a range of both old and new technologies that can be used to analyze drugs of abuse, including prescription drugs, new psychoactive substances and psychoactive plants. Chapters guide readers through the application of color tests, light microscopy-based particle imaging, GC-MS, Raman spectroscopy, capillary electrophoresis, ultra-high performance LC-tandem MS, DART-MS, MALDI-mass spectrometry imaging, LC-MS/MS and HPLC-ESI-MS/MS to the analysis of abused drugs in wastewater, hair, urine and plant-derived materials, among other matrices. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Analysis of Drugs of Abuse aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.

False positive results from on-scene illicit drug analysis using presumptive color tests have caused numerous wrongful arrests (Lieblein 2018). In many states, forensic laboratories do not ever receive the sample for confirmative identification unless the defendant goes to trial, which makes it impossible to know the severity of this problem. Additionally, some defendants take a plea deal, which can result in these defendants spending months or years in prison for a crime they did not commit. Improving the reliability of on-scene illicit drug testing by incorporating confirmatory methods capable of achieving very low limits of detection such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) into the field could help reduce these wrongful arrests. The purpose of this research was to build a spectral library of illicit drugs and additive spectra for a commercially available portable ion-trap GC-MS, the Torion T-9 from Perkin-Elmer. Due to the potential for space charge and ion-ion interactions in ion trap mass spectrometers, the resulting MS spectra produced can be different than standard quadrupole MS. Thus, a customized library for this type of field application is critical. Over fifty (50) illicit drugs and fifteen (15) additives were used to create a GC-MS library after repeated testing. This customized GC-MS library was then used to test the ability to detect and identify illicit substances and their additives in seized drug samples, provided by the Connecticut State Police K9 Unit, which had not undergone laboratory testing. In addition, results were compared with data generated from the same samples using a field-portable quadrupole GC-MS. Of the twelve (12) samples tested, a positive identification for a controlled substance was made for ten (10) of them, using spectral data in the customized GC-MS library. The other two (2) contained unknown peaks that were not identified by any available GC-MS or MS library. Future studies should work on refining the retention time for each drug, performing tests with different versions of the Torion T-9 to ensure robustness of the GC-MS library, and continuous addition of illicit drug and additive standards to further expand the GC-MS library.

There is a dramatic rise of novel drug use due to the increased popularity of so-called designer drugs. These synthetic drugs can be illegal in some countries, but legal in others and novel compounds unknown to drug chemistry emerge monthly. This thoughtfully constructed edited reference presents the main chromatographic methodologies and strategies used to discover and analyze novel designer drugs contained in diverse biological materials. The methods are based on molecular characteristics of the drugs belonging to each individual class of compounds, so it will be clear how the current methods are adaptable to future new drugs that appear in the market.

The identification of illicit drugs presents many problems to the forensic laboratory because there is a broad range of possibilities which must be considered in order for a chemist to arrive at a definite identification. Obviously, this is a task that requires a constant search for new analytical techniques to meet such demands. Furthermore, these new techniques must not only facilitate the testing procedure but must provide the necessary confidence in their results as required by our court system.

Describes the application of gas chromatography to various aspects of forensic chemistry. Following an introduction to the basic theory of chromatographic separations, the text discusses specific issues, such as drug analysis, fires and explosives, alcohol and toxicology.