Topic

Kevin A. Schug is a Full Professor and Shimadzu Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at The University of Texas (UT) at Arlington. He joined the faculty at UT Arlington in 2005 after completing a Ph.D. in Chemistry at Virginia Tech under the direction of Prof. Harold M. McNair and a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Vienna under Prof. Wolfgang Lindner. Research in the Schug group spans fundamental and applied areas of separation science and mass spectrometry. Schug was named the LCGC Emerging Leader in Chromatography in 2009, and most recently has been named the 2012 American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Young Investigator in Separation Science awardee.

Articles

Method validation processes will need to be refined to better suit forensic laboratories.

Full Method Validation Is Still a Glaring Deficiency in Many Forensics Laboratories

The deficiency in method validation for forensics laboratories regularly manifests itself in two steps.

The LCGC Blog: Full Method Validation Is Still a Glaring Deficiency in Many Forensics Laboratories

Pauline Griffeuille is an intern in pharmacy. In November 2020, she started a PhD thesis in analytical chemistry. The main objective of her work is to develop analytical tools based on a PESI-MS/MS approach for applications in forensic, clinical, and occupational toxicology. This thesis is supervised by Sylvain Dulaurent and Franck Saint-Marcoux.

Sylvain Dulaurent is an engineer in analytical chemistry and obtained a Ph.D. in 2010. He is currently the analytical scientist responsible for the Clinical and Forensic Toxicology Unit of the Limoges University Hospital (France). He has developed and published numerous analytical solutions for the determination of pesticides residues, drugs, and illicit drugs. He is also a legal expert in forensic toxicology with daily activity dedicated to DUID.

Franck Saint-Marcoux works equally for the university and the hospital, where he is in charge of clinical toxicology, environmental toxicology, and forensic science for both. He is responsible for the Clinical and Forensic Toxicology Unit of the Limoges University Hospital (France). He is full professor of toxicology at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Limoges. He has received different scientific awards from international societies, and is author or co-author of over 80 papers in peer‑reviewed international journals.

The benefits of a PESI-MS/MS approach to detect illicit drugs in saliva.

Driving Under the Influence of Drugs: PESI for the Measurement of Illicit Drugs in Saliva

Francis Diamond is a senior staff scientist for the Center for Forensic Science Research & Education (CFSRE) in Pennsylvania, USA. Previously, Diamond was Technical Director in the Criminalistics chemistry division of NMS Labs, Pennsylvania, USA, working for NMS Labs for 43 years. His areas of expertise are in the techniques of separation and detection of drugs/controlled substances.

Abbey Fausett is an applications chemist for the Gas Phase Separations Division within Agilent Technologies. In her 10 years with the company, she has contributed to the company by taking roles in service, support, and marketing.

The role of software to identify and distinguish seized drug samples.

Novel GC–MS Software Programs for Analyzing Seized Drug Samples

The dried blood spot (DBS) sampling technique has been around for decades, predominantly for small molecules and mainly in newborn screening. Although determination of proteins after DBS sampling is usually performed with immunometric assays, the combination with mass spectrometry (MS) is gaining interest. This article provides an overview of DBS sampling for mass spectrometry-based protein analysis. The first part will focus on clinical applications for DBSs and on sampling other biological matrices apart from whole blood, including dried matrix spots (DMSs). The second part will explore the new frontiers of the DBS sampling technology, including novel sampling materials/devices, and novel combinations with mass spectrometry. Examples of use in both qualitative and quantitative protein analysis are highlighted as well as examples using both bottom-up and top-down proteomics approaches.

Dried Blood Spots in Mass Spectrometry-based Protein Analysis. Recent Developments including Sampling of other Biological Matrices and Novel Sampling Technologies

LCGC Europe spoke to Leon Barron and Matteo Gallidabino to discuss novel nontargeted approaches to analyze explosive materials using ion chromatography (IC) with high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), and the challenges and solutions analysts can encounter when developing nontargeted methods.

Exploring Energetic Materials Using Nontargeted Analysis

If given the need to determine drug A or its metabolite in blood, 99% of the time I would choose to start with liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS).

The LCGC Blog: Forensic Drug Analysis: GC–MS versus LC–MS

The detection of drugs or other toxic substances can be crucial to forensic investigations. However, if the investigation involves a heavily decomposed, skeletonized, or missing corpse, that information can be difficult to obtain, and may require the skills of a unique branch of forensic toxicology-entomotoxicology. To explain the role of chromatography in this field, The Column spoke to Paola A. Magni from Murdoch University, in Perth, Australia.

The Role of Chromatography in Entomotoxicology

A fully automated method for the effective drug screening of large populations based on dried blood spot (DBS) technology is presented. DBSs were prepared, scanned, then spiked with deuterated standards, and directly extracted, before they were transferred online to an analytical liquid chromatography (LC) column and then to the electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) system. The method was applied to DBS samples from two patients with back pain; codeine and oxycodone could be identified and quantified accurately below the level of misuse of 89.6 ng/mL and 39.6 ng/mL, respectively. 

Automated Drug Screening of Dried Blood Spots Using Online LC–MS/MS Analysis

GC–MS is considered the gold standard in forensic trace evidence analysis because of its ability to chromatographically separate and analyze components in mixtures. Although GC×GC–MS has been used extensively in the oil and petroleum and flavour and fragrance industries, it has not been fully explored in the forensic sector. However, forensic scientists often encounter highly complex samples that would benefit from the capabilities of GC×GC–MS, such as, sexual lubricants, automobile paints, and tyres. GC×GC–MS analysis can allow for the deconvolution of coeluted components while providing increased sensitivity of minor components to help benefit any forensic laboratory.

Forensics, Narcotics | Topics