Analysis of synthetic cannabinoids on paper before and after processing for latent print using DFO and ninhydrin.

There have been several cases in the news regarding the presence of synthetic cannabinoids on paper being smuggled into jails and prisons in the United States. The Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner has been involved in the analysis of multiple cases. For the first time the laboratory received an analysis request for not only identification of controlled substances, but also for the presence of latent fingerprints.

Gas chromatography with tandem cold electron ionization mass spectrometric detection and vacuum ultraviolet detection for the comprehensive analysis of fentanyl analogues.

Fentanyl and its derivatives are amongst the ever-growing list of emerging drugs which are impinging on current traditional analytical techniques employed in forensic laboratories. To avoid current regulations, fentanyl analogues are being illicitly synthesized by slight alterations of functional groups to the fentanyl skeleton leading to inaccurate identifications, thus posing the greatest challenge to laboratories. In this study, a novel analytical technique is presented in which gas chromatography (GC) is interfaced with both cold electron ionization mass spectrometric (cold EI MS) and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) detection by the means of a flow splitter for the simultaneous qualitative and quantitative analysis of twenty-four fentanyl analogues, including seven sets of positional isomers.

The Rapid Escalation of Fentanyl in Illicit Drug Evidence in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 2010-2016.

Opioid overdose deaths in the United States quadrupled from 1999 (n = 8050 deaths) to 2015 (n = 33 091 deaths), and the number of deaths associated with synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, increased from 3105 deaths in 2013 to nearly 20 000 deaths in 2016. Given this rapid increase, timely surveillance for drugs in circulation is crucial. However, current surveillance systems used to track drug overdoses do not detect new drugs in circulation quickly.