Screening analysis for medicinal drugs and drugs of abuse in whole blood using ultra-performance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC–TOF-MS)—Toxicological findings in cases of alleged sexual assault

Birkler, Rune Isak Dupont; Telving, Rasmus; Ingemann-Hansen, Ole; Charles, Annie Vesterby; Johannsen, Mogens; Andreasen, Mette Findal

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2012.05.019

Cited by 55 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The main form of drug diversion is chemical submission (Djezzar et al 2009;P epin 2014), that is to say the administration of one or more psychoactive substances for criminal or illegal purposes to harm potential victims. On the whole, this type of drug diversion is achieved by adding a drug to a beverage without the victim's knowledge (Birkler et al 2012). The fight against chemical submission is a public health issue.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Descriptive Analysis of A Complex Product Space: Drug–Beverage Mixtures

Pensé‐Lhéritier

Vallet

Aubert

et al. 2016

Journal of Sensory Studies

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Chemical submission is increasing by an occurring phenomenon that consists in administering psychoactive substances for criminal intent to an unaware victim. This diversion is usually achieved by adding a drug to the drink of the potential victim. This study aims essentially at providing a sensory method that would allow the detection of the sensory changes due to the drug. The complexity of this study stemmed from the large number of beverages and potential drugs that can be used for this ill-intentioned act. The alcoholic beverages and soft drinks studied here were selected as a result of an on-line survey, followed by a sorting task study, to which various drugs were added. A visual sensory profile was performed for all the different drug-beverage mixtures. The experienced sensory panel agreed on a lexicon of nine attributes that would allow the drug-beverage mixture to be characterized. A multivariate analysis was performed to study the effect of both the sample (drug-beverage pairs) and the panelists on the sensory profile. The pharmaceutical forms of the drug clearly impacted the following attributes: spotted surface, particles on the surface, suspended particles, cloudiness and sediment. The beverages also had an influence on the visual characteristics of the mixtures concerning opacity, color and effervescence. Practical ApplicationResults of this study showed that visual sensory modification of drinks depends on both the drug and the beverage which suggests that the formulation of a drug must be designed to impact different sensory attributes.From a practical standpoint, both the sensory method and the lexicon presented in this article may be useful for researchers when developing drugs as these can be named according to the specific sensory changes created when mixed in beverages.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Descriptive Analysis of A Complex Product Space: Drug–Beverage Mixtures

Pensé‐Lhéritier

Vallet

Aubert

et al. 2016

Journal of Sensory Studies

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“…The three benzodiazepines were chosen because flunitrazepam is widely considered as date rape drug, diazepam is the most frequently encountered benzodiazepines in DFSA cases [11] and temazepam is a metabolite of diazepam and is also frequently encountered in casework [2], [16]. With regard to the link of flunitrazepam in DFSA cases, Roche Products Limited, manufacturer of Rohypnol (active ingredient flunitrazepam), has reformulated the drug by making its dissolution more difficult and generating a bright blue colour [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Benzodiazepines are detectable in hair for months and years depending on the length of the sample. Research has been encouraged into such non-routine specimens as the time frame between the assault taking place and the reporting is often prolonged [11] negating the use of blood and urine samples [6], [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault: Detection and Stability of Benzodiazepines in Spiked Drinks Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

2014

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Benzodiazepines are detected in a significant number of drug facilitated sexual assaults (DFSA). Whilst blood and urine from the victim are routinely analysed, due to the delay in reporting DFSA cases and the short half lives of most of these drugs in blood and urine, drug detection in such samples is problematic. Consideration of the drinks involved and analysis for drugs may start to address this. Here we have reconstructed the ‘spiking’ of three benzodiazepines (diazepam, flunitrazepam and temazepam) into five drinks, an alcopop (flavoured alcoholic drink), a beer, a white wine, a spirit, and a fruit based non-alcoholic drink (J2O) chosen as representative of those drinks commonly used by women in 16–24 year old age group. Using a validated GC-MS method for the simultaneous detection of these drugs in the drinks we have studied the storage stability of the benzodiazepines under two different storage conditions, uncontrolled room temperature and refrigerator (4°C) over a 25 day period. All drugs could be detected in all beverages over this time period. Diazepam was found to be stable in all of the beverages, except the J2O, under both storage conditions. Flunitrazepam and temazepam were found not to be stable but were detectable (97% loss of temazepam and 39% loss of flunitrazepam from J2O). The recommendations from this study are that there should be a policy change and that drinks thought to be involved in DFSA cases should be collected and analysed wherever possible to support other evidence types.

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“…Consequently, the increasing use of these widely prescribed drugs in drug-facilitated crimes is gaining current forensic interest. 17,18 The present paper focuses on the development of a methodology to differentiate several benzodiazepine drugs considering their commercial product, which includes the active ingredient and the excipients. First part of the work focuses on the sampling methodology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%