The Use of Forensic Chemistry Methods in the Determination of Counterfeit Drugs

Abstract

The problem of illegal circulation of drugs, their support and falsification are relevant not only in Ukraine. Experts believe that about 10% of the global medicinal drug market is fake and fraud. Counterfeit drugs may contain the active ingredient with its exact content as well as non-relevant ingredients, may not contain the active ingredient at all or may contain unrefined ingredients. In any case, this leads to a lack of therapeutic effect in the treatment, poisoning and, even, death of patients. As a result of our research, the presence of highly dangerous and toxic components in the composition of drugs (antifreeze, tar, arsenic, mercury and others) was established. In case of poisoning or death of a patient after the use of a counterfeit medicinal drug, an examination is carried out, and the presence of the active and additional ingredients of the drug is confirmed by chemical toxicological analysis. Chemical-toxicological analysis is a part of the science "Forensic chemistry" and allows us to confirm the presence of the drug in the body, the purity of the drug, the presence of the active ingredient of the drug, and therefore allows us to confirm the fact of poisoning or death of a person under the action of a chemical substance (for example, a falsified drug).

Features of the content of test tasks in the discipline «Standardization of Medicines»

“…Many methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis of medications have been adopted for chemical-toxicological analysis. However, the objects of research in this case are not only medical preparations, but also other toxic substances, as well as the biological material of a poisoned person [3][4][5].…”