Ethanol Determination in Post-Mortem Samples: Correlation between Blood and Vitreous Humor Concentration

Savini, Fabio; Tartaglia, Angela; Coccia, Ludovica; Palestini, Danilo; D’Ovidio, Cristian; Grazia, Ugo de; Merone, Giuseppe Maria; Bassotti, Elisa; Locatelli, Marcello

doi:10.3390/molecules25122724

Cited by 24 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…For example, in a study by Harper [157], postmortem blood and VH were collected from 51 decedents and microbiological analyses revealed no significant amounts of bacteria or fungi in VH and high diversity of microorganisms in 32 postmortem blood specimens. This is particularly interesting for ethanol testing, since the postmortem formation of ethanol is unlikely in VH [159]. In VH, there is no esterase activity [160], which also contributes to an increased stability of compounds in this specimen.…”

Section: Vitreous Humormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the use of VH has several analytical benefits, drug testing in VH has a few limitations. The volume available for sampling is limited and the blood-retinal barrier may restricts the incorporation of drugs into VH [156,159]. In addition, in violent death cases a rupture of the eyeball may occur, with loss of VH.…”

Section: Vitreous Humormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry-based methods have been frequently used due to its high sensitivity, selectivity and accuracy [151]. Gas chromatographic techniques used in separation and analysis of VH samples include GC-MS [154,156,163,164,[167][168][169][170][180][181][182], gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detector (GC-NPD) [170,177] and GC-FID [159,166]. Gas chromatography coupled to tandem ion trap mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) has also been applied in the analysis of cocaine in sheep's VH [183].…”

Section: Vitreous Humormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the years, VH has been successfully used in forensic casework, for illicit drugs and NPS testing. Several classic drugs of abuse have been detected in authentic VH specimens such as the following examples: ethanol [159,181,190], cocaine and its metabolites [155,164,166,172,176,181,[190][191][192], opioids and/or their metabolites [155,167,168,173,176,177,182,185,190], amphetamine and/ or methamphetamine [164,173,190], MDA derivatives [169], ketamine [172], phencyclidine [154,170], LSD and its metabolites [175], γ-hydroxybutyric acid [193], benzodiazepines [171,173,184,190], antidepressants [173,180,194,195] and barbiturates [196]. On the other hand, VH does not seem to be a good biological matrix for investigating cannabinoids [151].…”

Section: Vitreous Humormentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alternative matrices in forensic toxicology: a critical review

et al. 2021

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Purpose The use of alternative matrices in toxicological analyses has been on the rise in clinical and forensic settings. Specimens alternative to blood and urine are useful in providing additional information regarding drug exposure and analytical benefits. The goal of this paper is to present a critical review on the most recent literature regarding the application of six common alternative matrices, i.e., oral fluid, hair, sweat, meconium, breast milk and vitreous humor in forensic toxicology. Methods The recent literature have been searched and reviewed for the characteristics, advantages and limitations of oral fluid, hair, sweat, meconium, breast milk and vitreous humor and its applications in the analysis of traditional drugs of abuse and novel psychoactive substances (NPS). Results This paper outlines the properties of six biological matrices that have been used in forensic analyses, as alternatives to whole blood and urine specimens. Each of this matrix has benefits in regards to sampling, extraction, detection window, typical drug levels and other aspects. However, theses matrices have also limitations such as limited incorporation of drugs (according to physical–chemical properties), impossibility to correlate the concentrations for effects, low levels of xenobiotics and ultimately the need for more sensitive analysis. For more traditional drugs of abuse (e.g., cocaine and amphetamines), there are already data available on the detection in alternative matrices. However, data on the determination of emerging drugs such as the NPS in alternative biological matrices are more limited. Conclusions Alternative biological fluids are important specimens in forensic toxicology. These matrices have been increasingly reported over the years, and this dynamic will probably continue in the future, especially considering their inherent advantages and the possibility to be used when blood or urine are unavailable. However, one should be aware that these matrices have limitations and particular properties, and the findings obtained from the analysis of these specimens may vary according to the type of matrix. As a potential perspective in forensic toxicology, the topic of alternative matrices will be continuously explored, especially emphasizing NPS.

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Section: Vitreous Humormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Vitreous Humormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Vitreous Humormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Vitreous Humormentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alternative matrices in forensic toxicology: a critical review

et al. 2021

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“…Our ongoing research aimed to improve the sampling and sample processing tool development − by applying validated procedures useful for both clinical and legal purposes, coupled also with a more simple dilute and shoot concept; this method aims to provide a valid support in seized solid and liquid samples quantitative analysis. In particular, this method is able to simultaneously quantify 37 of the most common narcotic substances (cocaine, buprenorphine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA, 3,4-methylenedioxyiamphetamine or MDA, 3,4-methylenedioxy- N -ethylphetamine or MDE, 3,4-methylenedioxy- N -methyl-α-ethylphenylethylamine or MBDB, ketamine, diacetylmorphine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, methadone, methorphan, 6-monoacetylmorphine or 6-MAM, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, cannabidiol or CBD, and morphine), as well as the most commonly used excipients/adulterants (acetylsalicylic acid, aminophenazone, benzocaine, caffeine, diltiazem, phenacetin, hydroxyzine, levamisole, lidocaine, naloxone, nicotine, noscapine, paracetamol, paroxetine, procaine, procainamide, trimethoprim, sulfametoxazole, tropacocaine).…”

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confidence: 99%

Fast Quantitative LC-MS/MS Determination of Illicit Substances in Solid and Liquid Unknown Seized Samples

et al. 2021

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Narcotic and psychotropic substances are natural, synthetic, or semisynthetic compounds that are present in both solid and liquid illicit products. The alterations effects on the central nervous system related to their use can be psycholeptic, psychoanaleptic, or psychodiseptic and are able to generate tolerance, addiction, or dependence phenomena, creating social and public order problems. In this scenario, the analytical evaluations that aim to determine these analytes in seized nonbiological samples, and which assume the character of judicial evidence, must meet high analytical requirements of reliability, transparency, and procedures uniformity at a national level. For the first time in the literature, the herein validated method is able to provide the simultaneous quantitative determination of 37 of the most common narcotic substances as well as the most commonly used excipients/adulterants found in seized illicit material. Additionally, the validated method can process both solid and liquid samples maintaining the precision and trueness levels (intraday and interday) in accordance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency international guidelines (<14.31 and <13.41%, respectively). Furthermore, it provides a simple and fast procedure for sample preparation using the dilute and shoot approach, exploiting the sensitivity and selectivity of the LC-MS/MS instrument configuration used and the signal acquisition in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode (both positive and negative polarization modes).

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et al. 2023

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Background Several pitfalls arise in the assessment of postmortem blood alcohol concentrations (BAC). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate in a controlled and systematic manner in a porcine model whether a postmortem congener pattern can provide evidence for antemortem or postmortem ethanol neogenesis. Methods Ethanol was administered intravenously to six pigs, whereas six control pigs remained sober. The animals were euthanized 1h after the start of administration, and peripheral and heart blood (HB) as well as muscle tissue were collected. The animals were stored at room temperature and the aforementioned range of samples was collected daily for 3 days. Samples were analyzed for ethanol and congener substances by headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results Over the course of storage, ethanol formation was observed in the sober pigs, resulting in a median BAC of 0.24 g/kg body weight. The BAC in the pigs with alcohol remained comparatively stable. In addition, a distinct increase in n‑propanol, n‑butanol, and acetaldehyde was observed. The median blood concentration of n‑propanol in sober animals was higher after storage than that of pigs with alcohol, but no significant differences could be substantiated between the two groups (p > 0.05). Acetaldehyde and n‑butanol concentrations in HB of the sober pigs increased to the level of the pigs with alcohol at death after 3 days. Until the end of the experiment (3 days postmortem), no significant differences in concentrations were detected. Concentrations in muscle tissue did not increase to the same extent. Discussion In the present study, no marker could be identified that could reliably discriminate antemortem ethanol ingestion from postmortem genesis.

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Ethanol Determination in Post-Mortem Samples: Correlation between Blood and Vitreous Humor Concentration

Cited by 24 publications

References 23 publications

Alternative matrices in forensic toxicology: a critical review

Alternative matrices in forensic toxicology: a critical review

Fast Quantitative LC-MS/MS Determination of Illicit Substances in Solid and Liquid Unknown Seized Samples

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