Problems of Forensic Sciences 2004 Vol. 59 (LIX) 38-49
RESEARCH ON THE DETERMINATION OF XENOBIOTICS IN EPIDERMAL PRODUCTS AND THEIR USEFULNESS IN FORENSIC TOXICOLOGY
Ewa PUFAL
Chair and Department of Forensic Medicine, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń
Streszczenie
The possibility of determining atenolol in hair and nails is presented in our study. The capability to analyse these biological materials opens up new possibilities in the field of clinical-toxicological examinations, especially forensic toxicology. Products of the epidermis, such as hair and nails, can constitute good biological material for use in toxicological examinations; samples can be taken from living persons, and post-mortem and also from persons who have stopped taking the drug a long time before. Liquid chromatography with a mass detector was used for the investigation. A method of isolation and identification of atenolol from hair and nails was worked out during the study. Validation of the method was carried out. The developed method was used to determine the level of atenolol in hair and nails obtained from people who take this medicine. The developed analytical conditions enable determination of the medicine at levels higher than 25 pg/mg. 30 samples of hair and nails (obtained from people who had been taking atenolol for a period of over 6 months) were analysed. The concentration of atenolol in hair was, on average, 1.73 ng/ml and in nails – 0.155 ng/ml.
Słowa kluczowe
Atenolol; Hair; Nails, LC/ESI/MS.