Establishing effective interpretation criteria in hair analysis to distinguish between passive and active cocaine exposure: Insights from authentic hair samples collected from professional individuals exposed to cocaine.

Interpretation results of hair analysis, particularly for cocaine, can be challenging due to the need to differentiate between active use or passive contamination. Our study aimed to assess the impact of varying degrees of passive cocaine exposure hair analysis results and their interpretation. Hair samples (n = 25) were categorized based on the declared cocaine exposure of volunteers: (a) high, involving handling up to several kilograms of cocaine powder from dismantling illegal distribution sites; (b) medium, where staff dealt with cocaine blocks (up to kilograms); and (c) low, with staff in contact with up to grams of cocaine for laboratory analysis.

The complementarity of phosphatidylethanol in whole blood and ethyl glucuronide in hair as biomarkers for the monitoring of alcohol use.

Monitoring long-term alcohol use and/or abstinence is essential in clinical and medico-legal cases. Analysis of ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in hair provides information on alcohol consumption over several months. However, there is a lag time between ethanol consumption, incorporation of EtG in the hair bulb and hair growing out of the scalp.

Incorporation of doxylamine and N-doxylamine-oxide in human hair and the impact of a permanent oxidative hair dye.

Knowledge of the drug incorporation in hair and impact of cosmetic treatments remains essential to correctly interpret forensic cases. The study shows the analysis of doxylamine and doxylamine-N-oxide and the evaluation of the relationship between dose and hair concentration and the impact of hair treatment (oxidative dying). The study included (A) three subjects participated to the study: a regular user (Subject 1) and two single-dose users (Subject 2, 1 single dose; and Subject 3, 2 single doses spaced 5 months apart).

Combined Use of Flubromazepam and Stimulants: Blood and Oral Fluid Concentrations and Impact on Driving Ability.

"Designer" benzodiazepines (DBZDs) are becoming increasingly available in Europe, with the European Monitoring Centre of Drugs and Drug Addiction currently monitoring ∼30 new benzodiazepines. The following driving under the influence of drug (DUID) case describes the oral fluid (OF) and blood concentrations, as well as the observed effects after the combined use of stimulants and flubromazepam. Both OF, collected via the Intercept i2 collector (Immunalysis, Pomona, CA, USA), and blood (collected in containers with various stabilizers) were screened using a liquid chromatographic (LC) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometric (MS-MS) method.

Liquid Chromatography High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry in Forensic Toxicology: What are the Specifics of Method Development, Validation and Quality Assurance for Comprehensive Screening Approaches?

The use of high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) has increased over the past decade in clinical and forensic toxicology, especially for comprehensive screening approaches. Despite this, few guidelines in this field have specifically addressed HRMS issues concerning compound identification, validation, measurement uncertainty and quality assurance. To fully implement this technique, certainly in an era in which the quality demands for laboratories are ever-increasing due to various norms (e.

Evaluation of decontamination procedures for drug testing in undamaged versus damaged hair.

Although substances incorporated by ingestion are strongly bound to hair, their loss may occur if aggressive decontamination procedures are applied, especially in highly damaged/porous hair. Evaluation of cleaning procedures using hair samples with different porosity obtained from ethanol or drug users (cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, methadone, fentanyl, tramadol, diazepam, buprenorphine, dihydrocodeine, citalopram and trazodone). The effect of washing time and multiple wash steps with water and methanol were evaluated.

The Interest of a Systematic Toxicological Analysis Combined with Forensic Advice to Improve the Judicial Investigation and Final Judgment in Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault Cases.

The conviction rate in drug facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) cases is known to be very low. In addition, the potential impact of toxicological results on the case is often not well understood by the judicial authorities. The aims of this study were (1) to obtain more knowledge concerning the prevalence of incapacitating substances in DFSA cases, (2) to create a more efficient DFSA analysis strategy taking background information into account, and (3) to evaluate the potential impact of systematic toxicological analysis (STA) on the final judicial outcome.

The Future of Analytical and Interpretative Toxicology: Where are We Going and How Do We Get There?

(Forensic) toxicology has faced many challenges, both analytically and interpretatively, especially in relation to an increase in potential drugs of interest. Analytical toxicology and its application to medicine and forensic science have progressed rapidly within the past centuries. Technological innovations have enabled detection of more substances with increasing sensitivity in a variety of matrices.

A different insight in hair analysis: Simultaneous measurement of antipsychotic drugs and metabolites in the protein and melanin fraction of hair from criminal justice patients.

Background: Previous studies have postulated that four structural compartments may be differentiated in hair: surface protein domain, water-accessible protein domain, water-inaccessible protein domain, and melanin. Drugs contained in blood, sweat, sebum, and environment would be deposited in the first two domains, with primarily drugs in blood being incorporated in the latter two domains during hair synthesis. Drugs in the first two domains would be removed by washing procedures.

Semiquantitative Activity-Based Detection of JWH-018, a Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist, in Oral Fluid after Vaping.

The rapid proliferation of new synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) has initiated considerable interest in the development of so-called "untargeted" screening strategies. One of these new screening technologies involves the activity-based detection of SCRAs. In this study, we evaluated whether (synthetic) cannabinoid activity can be detected in oral fluid (OF) and, if so, whether it correlates with SCRA concentrations.

Development of an UPLC-MS/MS method for the analysis of 16 synthetic opioids in segmented hair, and evaluation of the polydrug history in fentanyl analogue users.

Seizures of synthetic opioids have increased since 2012, with a 45 % increase in synthetic opioid related deaths between 2016 and 2017 in US. Recently, concerns have arisen around these substances and their illicit use also in several European countries. Our aim was to develop and validate an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for the analysis of 16 synthetic opioids in segmented hair, including fentanyl, norfentanyl, acetylfentanyl, U-47700, AH-7921, acrylfentanyl, crotonylfentanyl, butyrylfentanyl, methoxacetylfentanyl, U-49900, valeryfentanyl, 4-fluoro-iso-butyrylfentanyl, ocfentanyl, furanylfentanyl, tetrahydrofuranylfentanyl, and alfetanyl.

Activity-based reporter assays for the screening of abused substances in biological matrices.

The (ab)use of designer drugs and steroid hormones has gained popularity due to the lower chance of getting caught, as routine drug or doping tests may miss these (novel) compounds. Current analytical approaches mostly make use of targeted, structure-based techniques, such as immunoassays or mass spectrometry (MS)-based methods. However, these approaches have limitations, including a lack of cross-reactivity and the need for prior knowledge of molecular identity.

Activity-Based Concept to Screen Biological Matrices for Opiates and (Synthetic) Opioids.

Background: Detection of new highly potent synthetic opioids is challenging as new compounds enter the market. Here we present a novel screening method for the detection of opiates and (synthetic) opioids based on their activity.

Methods: A cell-based system was set up in which activation of the μ-opioid receptor (MOR) led to recruitment of β-arrestin 2, resulting in functional complementation of a split NanoLuc luciferase and allowing readout via bioluminescence.

New psychoactive substances in oral fluid of French and Belgian drivers in 2016.

Background: Driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) is a worldwide problem with potentially major judiciary and life-threatening consequences. Up to now, only classical drugs of abuse (DOA) are tested for DUID detection. A challenging issue for drafting up-dated international drug policies is to take into account the recent and expanding new psychoactive substances (NPS) market.

Activity-Based Detection of Cannabinoids in Serum and Plasma Samples.

Background: Synthetic cannabinoids are the largest group of new psychoactive substances monitored by the European Monitoring Centre of Drugs and Drug Addiction. The rapid proliferation of novel analogs makes the detection of these new derivatives challenging and has initiated considerable interest in the development of so-called "untargeted" screening strategies to detect these compounds.

Methods: We developed new, stable bioassays in which cannabinoid receptor activation by cannabinoids led to recruitment of truncated β-arrestin 2 (βarr2) to the cannabinoid receptors, resulting in functional complementation of a split luciferase, allowing readout via bioluminescence.

Driving under the influence of cocaine: Quantitative determination of basic drugs in oral fluid obtained during roadside controls and a controlled study with cocaine users.

Using the Belgian Drugs and Driving procedure, 36% of the cocaine-positive oral fluid (OF) screening results were not confirmed in plasma. This study investigates the impact of the choice of screening devices and confirmation matrix on the detection of cocaine use. An ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method quantifying cocaine, benzoylecgonine (BZE), and other basic drugs in OF was developed and validated.

Update of Standard Practices for New Method Validation in Forensic Toxicology.

International agreement concerning validation guidelines is important to obtain quality forensic bioanalytical research and routine applications as it all starts with the reporting of reliable analytical data. Standards for fundamental validation parameters are provided in guidelines as those from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the German speaking Gesellschaft fur Toxikologie und Forensische Chemie (GTFCH) and the Scientific Working Group of Forensic Toxicology (SWGTOX). These validation parameters include selectivity, matrix effects, method limits, calibration, accuracy and stability, as well as other parameters such as carryover, dilution integrity and incurred sample reanalysis.

Quantification of EtG in hair, EtG and EtS in urine and PEth species in capillary dried blood spots to assess the alcohol consumption in driver's licence regranting cases.

Background: In Belgium, the analysis of indirect biomarkers such as carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT%), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase (AST/ALT) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV), is currently used to monitor the alcohol consumption in cases of fitness to drive assessment. We evaluated the use of direct ethanol markers for this purpose, exclusively determined in matrices obtained via non- or minimally invasive sampling.

Methods: Three validated quantitative methods (ethylglucuronide (EtG) in hair and urine, ethylsulfate (EtS) in urine, and phosphatidylethanol species (PEth 16:0/18:1, PEth 18:1/18:1 and PEth 16:0/16:0) in capillary dried blood spots (C-DBS)) were used.

Quantification of phosphatidylethanol 16:0/18:1, 18:1/18:1, and 16:0/16:0 in venous blood and venous and capillary dried blood spots from patients in alcohol withdrawal and control volunteers.

Phosphatidylethanol species (PEths) are promising biomarkers of alcohol consumption. Here, we report on the set-up, validation, and application of a novel UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS method for the quantification of PEth 16:0/18:1, PEth 18:1/18:1, and PEth 16:0/16:0 in whole blood (30 μL) and in venous (V, 30 μL) or capillary (C, 3 punches (3 mm)) dried blood spots (DBS). The methods were linear from 10 (LLOQ) to 2000 ng/mL for PEth 16:0/18:1, from 10 (LLOQ) to 1940 ng/mL for PEth 18:1/18:1, and from 19 (LLOQ) to 3872 ng/mL for PEth 16:0/16:0.