Drug-facilitated sexual assault and analytical toxicology: the role of LC-MS/MS

A rapid and accurate UPLC/MS/MS method for the simultaneous determination of zolpidem and its main metabolites in biological fluids and its application in a forensic context

“…Zolpidem acts rapidly, and victims are less able to accurately recall the circumstances under which the offence occurred due to its amnesic properties. In recent years there has been a rising trend in the number of DFC cases involving zolpidem, and this trend has caused alarm among the general public [1][2][3][4].…”

“…Many methods and techniques have been developed for the analysis of zolpidem in biological fluids, including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) [13], highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) [14,15], capillary electrophoresis (CE) [16] and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) [3,4,17,18]. However, no method especially LC-MS/MS method has been published for the simultaneous determination of zolpidem and its main metabolites to prolong the detection window of zolpidem in blood and urine.…”

Hair analysis of drugs involved in drug-facilitated sexual assault and detection of zolpidem in a suspected case

“…The expected concentration in hair is generally in the low picogram/milligram range for most drugs. Therefore, the use of highly sensitive instrumental techniques, such as gas or liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), is mandatory in the investigation of these drug-facilitated crimes [9][10][11][12].…”

CYP3A4 and CYP2C19 genetic polymorphisms and zolpidem metabolism in the Chinese Han population: A pilot study

“…Zolpidem has been implicated in sexual assaults and robberies, and has thus caused alarm in the general public [1][2][3]. Zolpidem (N,N,6-trimethyl-2-(4-methylphenyl)imidazo[1,2-a] pyridine-3-acetamide hemitartrate) is an imidazopyridine compound that is used for the treatment of insomnia.…”