A case of suicide by intravenous injection of pancuronium.

This report details a suicide by pancuronium bromide injection by a 31-year old female anesthesiologist. Pancuronium bromide was identified in the blood and brain by means of ion-pair extraction followed by thin-layer chromatography, spectrophotometry and electrospray ionization/tandem mass spectrometry. After this positive identification, the levels of pancuronium were carefully quantified by spectrophotometry: 1.05 mg/ml in the blood and 0.51 mg/g in the brain. The cause of death was judged to be asphyxia due to respiratory muscle paralysis caused by pancuronium.

A chemical and physicochemical study of an Egyptian mummy 'Iset Iri Hetes' from the Ptolemaic period III-I B.C.

Chemical and physicochemical examinations of the fragments of an Egyptian mummy dated between the 3rd and 1st century B.C. were performed. The chemical examinations indicated the presence of resin in the skull and in the fragments of bandages wrapped around the mummy. An analysis of the infrared spectra of the fragments indicated a type of resin originating from the Copal group. Physicochemical investigations showed that main chemical elements such as Ca, Mg, Na, K, P and trace chemical elements such as Fe, Zn, Cu, and Pb occurred in bone fragments in proportions typical for people living today. In tooth fragments, values were similar to normal except for K, P, and Zn, which were lower, and Pb, which was absent. In the fingernails, most elements were found in much higher concentrations except for Cu and Pb, which were lower. The results of the study in terms of their implications on mummification are discussed.

Use of short, wide-bore capillary columns in GC toxicological screening.

The usefulness of wide-bore, thick film capillary columns for routine toxicological screening was assessed. Two such columns were examined: fused silica CPSil 5CB (i.d., 0.53 mm; length, 10 m; film thickness, 5.2 microns) and glass SPB-1 (i.d. 0.75 mm; length, 30 m; film thickness, 1.0 micron). A standard packed column filled with 3% OV-1 (i.d., 2 mm; length, 1.5 m) and a medium-bore fused silica column CPSil 5 (i.d., 0.32 mm; length, 25 m; film thickness, 0.4 micron) were examined for comparison. Mixtures of alkanes and drugs, as well as biological samples from routine casework, were analyzed. Both types of wide-bore columns proved to be very useful in routine toxicological practice, due to satisfactory efficiency, high capacity, and ease of installation. The retention index values of various drugs, examined on wide-bore columns, were in agreement with the reference database obtained from packed columns.

Rapid determination of ethylene glycol in biological material.

A rapid and simple modification of a gas chromatographic (AFID) method of ethylene glycol determination, based on derivation with n-butylboronic acid, was developed.

Erratic data in thin layer chromatography due to anomalous behavior of correction standards.

Correction of crude thin layer chromatographic data usually enables a reliable comparison with reference data bases. However, when the correction standards are not spotted in the right positions, the calculation may produce false results if anomalous migration occurs. This was observed in the case of acidic and neutral drugs developed in the chloroform-methanol (9:1) system.

Enzymic hydrolysis of tissues before XAD-2 extraction in poisoning cases.

Samples of blood, liver and brain taken from 13 cases of fatal poisoning with barbiturates, antidepressants, phenothiazines and anticonvulsants were digested with trypsin and beta-glucuronidase. The concentrations of drugs were higher in hydrolyzed livers in barbiturate and phenothiazine poisonings. In the case of diazepam, phenytoin, carbamazepine, amitriptyline, imipramine and chloroprothixene poisonings the results obtained after enzymic hydrolysis were the same or worse than in controls. The blood levels of drugs in non-fatal poisonings with diazepam, doxepin and chlorpromazine were similar in samples digested with trypsin and in controls. All samples were extracted with Amberlite XAD-2 resin by XAD-2 Bag technique.

Enzymic digestion of biosamples as a method of sample pretreatment before XAD-2 extraction.

Four proteolytic enzymes trypsin, protease type I, protease type V (Pronase AS) and protease type VIII (Subtilisin) were used for digestion of blood, brain, liver, and kidney in experimental poisonings of dogs with phenobarbital, amitriptyline, diazepam, and chlorpromazine. Enzymic digestion was used also in 21 forensic cases of fatal poisonings with hypnotic and psychotropic drugs. Each enzyme applied gave a similar yield. The efficienct of enzymic digestion varied according to the kind of drug, tissue, and individual. In general, enzymic hydrolysis proved useful in isolation of psychotropic drugs from liver and brain, being less effective in the case of blood. The mechanism of drugs liberation after enzymic treatment remains obscure.

Isolation of drugs from autopsy material by XAD-2 adsorption-elution technique. A routine procedure.

The method of adsorption of drugs on Amberlite XAD-2 resin, followed by differential elution was under study during 1 1/2 year of routine use. The method allows a separation of acidic and basic drugs and--due to acid hydrolysis step before adsorption--assures better recovery of conjugated and protein-bound drugs. The amounts of various drugs, found in autopsy cases by the XAD-2 method were usually higher than those found by solvent extraction. The method applied requires 20 g of sample (biofluid or tissue) for general toxicological analysis.

Isolation of drugs from blood and tissues with XAD-2 bags.

Nylon bags containing 2-g portions of Amberlite XAD-2 resin were used for systematic analysis of drugs in biosamples. The procedure requires 10 or less grams of material, two XAD-2 bags, and enables rapid and economical isolation of most common drugs. The method was demonstrated on autopsy blood spiked withe 19 of the most common drugs, and was routinely used in cases of fatal and non-fatal poisoning. The eluates were clean and suitable for direct gas chromatographic and ultraviolet spectrophotometric analysis. The procedure used appeared more convenient than XAD-2 column extraction procedures. Classic solvent extraction methods were usually less efficient.