GOVERNMENT INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC SCIENCE, AURANGABAD

NAME - AKSHAY H. NIMSE

COURSE- PGD FS & RL
SEMISTER- II
 INTRODUCTION
Forensic Pharmacology and Toxicology answers the questions of
association of chemicals with an individual’s behaviour, illness,
injury or death. It can be described as the interpretation of the
effect of drugs and their duration of action with the purpose of
facilitating a medico legal process.
 Pharmacologist conducts an analysis of the body fluids and
interprets the chemicals data to help in assessing the role of a
drug or specific chemical in the behaviour, illness, injury, or
death of an individual.
Many a time, forensic pharmacologist and forensic toxicologist are
considered to be the same. The forensic toxicologist is also involved
in drug testing and in testifying in criminal cases, but a forensic
pharmacologist is engage in forensic in a much broader way. His area
of expertise includes a much broader range of cases such as adverse
drug reactions to medicines, overdose of medicines, drug interaction
and personal injury resulting from an exposure to medicines, effect
from drug abuse or industrial chemicals and induction of cancer by
chemicals.
 OBJECTIVES
 The practice of forensic pharmacology and toxicology encompasses
three major subdivisions : Forensic drug testing , Human
performance toxicology, Postmortem toxicology. Postmortem
toxicology includes the analysis of biological specimen taken from an
autopsy to identify effect of drug, alcohol and poisons.
 A pharmacologist conduct an analysis of body fluids and tissues and
interprets the chemical data in assessing the role of drug or specific
chemical in the behaviour, illness, injury, or death of an individual.
 The main objective of forensic pharmacologist is in forensic science
is to analyse, asses, review, and support case.
 METHODS USE BY FORENSIC
PHARMACOLOGIST
 Spectrophotometry  Microsampling
 Chromatographic methods  QSAR models
 Immunologic methods  RNA detection
 Gas chromatography – mass  CRISPr/Cas9
spectrometry  Molecular imaging
 Special methods for metal analysis  EEGs
 Ultraviolet spectrophotometry for  Auditory brainstem response
drug analysis
 Organ on a chip
 DNA analysis
 Autopsy
 Finger printing
 Immunoassays- Immunoassays requires you to draw blood and use the
antibodies to find a reaction with substances such as drugs. The substances must
be specific. It is the most common drug screening technique. Using the targeted
drug the test will tell you if it is positive or negative to that drug. There can be 4
results when taking the test. Those results can be a true-positive, a false-
negative, a false-positive, and a truenegative.
 Gas chromatography- Mass spectrometry Gas chromatography-mass
spectrometry (GC-MS) is a widely used analytical technique for the detection of
volatile compounds. Ionization techniques most frequently used in forensic
toxicology include electron ionization (EI) or chemical ionization (CI), with EI
being preferred in forensic analysis due to its detailed mass 13 spectra and its
large library of spectra. However, chemical ionization can provide greater
sensitivity for certain compounds that have high electron affinity functional
groups.
Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry
(LC-MS) has the capability to analyze compounds that are polar and less volatile.
Derivatization is not required for these analytes as it would be in GC-MS, which
simplifies sample preparation. As an alternative to immunoassay screening which
generally requires confirmation with another technique, LC-MS offers greater selectivity
and sensitivity. This subsequently reduces the possibility of a false negative result that
has been recorded in immunoassay drug screening with synthetic cathinones and
cannabinoids.[18] A disadvantage of LC-MS on comparison to other analytical
techniques such as GC-MS, is the high instrumentation cost. However, recent advances
in LC-MS have led to higher resolution and sensitivity which assists in the evaluation of
spectra to identify forensic analytes.
Detection of metals- The compounds suspected of containing a metal are traditionally
analyzed by the destruction of the organic matrix by chemical or thermal oxidation. This
leaves the metal to be identified and quantified in the inorganic residue, and it can be
detected using such methods as the Reinsch test, emission spectroscopy or X-ray
diffraction. Unfortunately, while this identifies the metals present it removes the
original compound, and so hinders efforts to determine what may have been ingested.
The toxic effects of various metallic compounds can vary considerably.
 CONCLUSION
In cases where validation cannot be made between the uses of a drug
with a specific associated outcome, it becomes difficult for a judiciary
to offer radical explanation. In such cases, a forensic pharmacologist
can make a useful contribution by utilizing his or her knowledge of
drug-related problems and pharmacology to provide relevant results
and data which is helpful in assisting the legal system to take the right
decision. Medical education in India needs to focus on developing
Forensic Pharmacology as a subspecialty.
 REFERENCE

 Forensic Pharmacology / Beth E. Zedeck and Morris S. Zedeck (Introduction)

 Katarina Howner, Karolina Institute-Solna, Sweden Pharmacological treatment in Forensic
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Liisa Riekkola (2nd ed.).
Harper, Lane; Powell, Jeff; Pijl, Em M. (December 2017). “An overview of forensic drug testing
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THANK YOU