Determination of illicit and/or abused drugs and compounds of forensic interest in biosamples by capillary electrophoretic/electrokinetic methods

Abstract

The application of capillary electrophoresis (CE) methods in forensic toxicology for the determination of illicit and/or misused drugs in biological samples is reviewed in the present paper. Sample pretreatments and direct injection modes used in CE for analysis of drugs in biological fluids are briefly described. Besides, applications of separation methods based on capillary zone electrophoresis or micellar electrokinetic chromatography with UV absorbance detection to (i) analysis of drugs of abuse, (ii) analysis of other drugs and toxicants of potential forensic interest and (iii) for metabolism studies are reviewed. Also, alternative CE methods are briefly discussed, including capillary isotachophoresis and separation on mixed polymer networks. High sensitivity detection methods used for forensic drug analysis in biological samples are then presented, particularly those based on laser induced fluorescence. A glimpse of the first examples of application of CE–mass spectrometry in forensic toxicology is finally given.