OBJECTIVES: To infer the frequency of dosage and medication history investigate of the victims in drug facilitated cases by the segmental analysis of clonazepam in hair. METHODS: Freezing milling under liquid nitrogen environment combined with ultrasonic bath was used as sample pretreatment in this study, and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used for the segmental analysis of the hair samples collected from 6 victims in different cases. The concentrations of clonazepam and 7-aminoclonazepam were detected in each hair section. RESULTS: Clonazepam and its metabolite 7-aminoclonazepam were detected in parts of hair sections from the 6 victims. The occurrence time of drug peak concentration was consistent with the intake timing provided by victims. CONCLUSIONS Segmental analysis of hair can provide the information of frequency of dosage and intake timing, which shows an unique evidential value in drug facilitated crimes.
Adult ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Clonazepam/analysis* ; Crime ; Forensic Medicine/methods* ; Forensic Toxicology ; Hair/chemistry* ; Humans ; Mass Spectrometry ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ; Substance Abuse Detection/methods* ; Ultrasonics