Determination of drugs in “Alternative Biological Matrices”

Abstract

With technological advances in extraction methods, immunoassay screening and instrumental techniques, interest in testing biological matrices other than urine, blood and serum has increased dramatically over the last few years. Almost every biological matrix can be tested in some way and provides unique information over other fluids and tissues. The increasing utility of immunoassay screening procedures, specifically ELISA, in forensic laboratories provides two major benefits: 1) biological background is washed away, enhancing the sensitivity of the assays and 2) automated instrumentation has allowed an increase in the number and type of specimens which can be processed on a routine basis. Finally, the availability and affordability of bench-top liquid chromatographic systems with tandem mass spectrometric detection systems (LC-MS/MS) has allowed confirmatory methods to be reliably implemented. doi:10.1016/j.scijus.2009.09.009 50 years of forensic toxicology