Problems of Forensic Sciences 2008 Vol. 76 (LXXVI) 403-411
SCREENING FOR DRUG-FACILITATED SEXUAL ASSAULT BY MEANS OF LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY COUPLED TO ATMOSPHERIC-PRESSURE CHEMICAL-IONISATION-MASS SPECTROMETRY (LC-APCI-MS)
Piotr ADAMOWICZ, Maria KAŁA
Institute of Forensic Research, Krakow, Poland
Streszczenie
Drug-facilitated crimes (sexual assaults, robbery) are common in many countries. The low concentration of date-rape drugs in blood and (often) the long delay between the crime and clinical examination make analysis of biological fluids collected from victims of rapes for presence of these drugs very difficult. The aim of this study was to develop and apply an LC-APCI-MS screening procedure for date-rape drugs in blood. The elaborated method allows simultaneous screening and detection of forty-two compounds. Target analytes were isolated using liquid-liquid extraction. Analyses were carried out using LC-MS operating in APCI mode. Detection of all compounds was based on pseudomolecular ions that were monitored in 6 groups, up to 19 ions in each group. The developed procedure can easily be expanded for more substances. The LC-APCI-MS procedure was successfully applied in routine casework to the analysis of authentic blood samples collected from victims of rapes.
Słowa kluczowe
Drug-facilitated sexual assault; Drug screening; LC-APCI-MS.