TOXICOLOGY

Toxicology Definition: science of detecting, isolating, purifying, and identifying toxic chemicals, usually from biological materials like body fluids, tissues, organs, etc. Forensic Toxicology: matters that pertain to violations of criminal law History: 1000 years ago - search for means to detect poison 1840 U.S. courts admitted chemist’s testimony

TYPES OF CASES A. Product Tampering First Case: 1982,Chicago 7 people died Tylenol laced with cyanide $100,000 reward is unclaimed Wave of copycat tamperings afterwards

B. POISONS Definition: anything harmful to the biological system “the dose is the poison” Criminal use: generally use small amounts in food/drink simple to use; effective difficult to detect and trace back to killer Common poisons: Arsenic - stomach cramps and vomiting CO - dizziness and nausea morphine - pupils of eyes contract cyanide - faint odor of bitter almonds

DRUGS Definition: natural/synthetic substance used to produce physiological/psychological effects May be the primary OR the secondary cause of death Classification: Opiates: Narcotic sedatives: produce sleep Analgesics: bring relief from pain Stimulants: increase CNS activity & alertness (e.g. caffeine, nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines) c. Hallucinogens: cause alteration in normal thought processes, perceptions and moods d. Depressants: slow the CNS; relaxation; loss of coordination (e.g. alcohol, inhalants, sedatives, general anesthetics) e. Anabolic Steroids: chemically related to testosterone

Depressants: Alcohol(ethyl alcohol) absorbed into bloodstream distributed throughout body’s water select water-rich organ or fluid to test brain, cerebrospinal fluid, vitreous humor - eliminated from the body oxidation in the liver excretion: unchanged in breath, urine, sweat - amt of alcohol exhaled directly proportional to concentration of alcohol in blood (BAC)

Drug Identification Use of Physicians Desk Reference (PDR) Screening Tests 1. Color Tests - see handout 2. Microcrystalline tests 3. Thin layer chromatography (TLC)

Confirmatory Tests 1. Infrared spectrophotometry 2. Gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry (GC/MS)

Drug Control Laws Penalties: may depend on weight or concentration U.S. Federal Law: Controlled Substances Act (see handout) 5 schedules of classification on basis of Drug’s potential for abuse Potential for physical and psychological dependence Medical value

Case Example: Elvis Presley Initial report: death due to cardiac arrhythmia Final reports: died from taking acceptable doses of too many similarly acting drugs - POLYPHARMACY