Given the complexity of biological samples and the trace nature of target materials in forensic trace analysis, a simple and effective method is needed to obtain sufficient target materials from complex substrates. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have shown a wide range of application value in many research fields, such as biomedicine, drug delivery and separation, due to their unique superparamagnetic properties, stable physical and chemical properties, biocompatibility, small size, high specific surface area and other characteristics. To apply MNPs in the pretreatment of forensic materials, maximize the extraction rate of the target materials, and minimize interference factors to meet the requirements of trace analysis of the target materials, this paper reviews the application of MNPs in the fields of forensic toxicological analysis, environmental forensic science, trace evidence analysis and criminal investigation in recent years, and provides research ideas for the application of MNPs in forensic trace analysis.
Magnetite Nanoparticles/chemistry* ; Forensic Medicine ; Forensic Sciences ; Forensic Toxicology

Biological matrix reference material is a reference material that combines the target material with the biological matrix. The biological matrix reference material has higher consistency with the authentic specimens in forensic toxicology, and its application has a positive effect on improving the accuracy of test results. This paper reviews the research on the matrix reference materials corresponding to three common biological test materials (blood, urine and hair). In order to provide reference for the development and application of biological matrix reference materials in forensic toxicology, this paper mainly introduces the research progress of preparation technology of biological matrix reference materials and some existing products and their parameters evaluation.
Forensic Toxicology/methods* ; Hair ; Body Fluids

Mass spectrometry imaging （MSI） is a new imaging technology that can simultaneously detect and record the spatial distribution information of multiple molecules on the sample surface without labeling. The main principle of MSI is to combine mass spectrometry with imaging technology and irradiate the sample slice with ion beam or laser to ionize the molecules on its surface, obtain the mass spectrometry signal through the detector, convert the obtained data into pixel points by the imaging software, and then construct the spatial distribution image of the target compound on the tissue surface. The sample preparation for MSI include： sample collection and storage, tissue section, tissue pretreatment, selection and application of matrix. At present, this technology has been widely used in the fields of biomedicine, new drug development and proteomics, and its application in the field of forensic toxicology has also gradually attracted attention. This article reviews the principles and sample preparation process of MSI, describes the application of MSI in abused substances and metabolites of various material matrices, herbal mixtures, latent fingerprints, hair and animal and plant tissues, and discusses the prospects of the application of this technology in forensic toxicology, in order to provide ideas and references for the application of MSI technology in forensic toxicology.
Animals ; Diagnostic Imaging ; Forensic Toxicology ; Humans ; Mass Spectrometry ; Plants ; Proteomics ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization

In recent years, zebrafish model has been widely concerned and recognized by scholars at home and abroad. As an animal model, zebrafish is of great research value because it is easy to feed, easy to operate, observe and analyze, and the model results can be highly combined with human body test data. Zebrafish model has been widely used in many fields, including basic medical science, clinical medicine, agricultural production, environmental toxicology and forensic science. This review introduces the biological characteristics of zebrafish, summarizes the research progress of zebrafish model in toxicology, and discusses the application prospect of zebrafish model in forensic science.
Animals ; Forensic Sciences ; Forensic Toxicology ; Humans ; Zebrafish

Chloroquines are the long-established prescription drug, which are often used clinically to treat malaria and connective tissue diseases. Since December 2019, corona virus disease 2019 （COVID-19） outbreaks caused by 2019 novel coronavirus （2019-nCoV） has occurred in China and many countries around the world. Due to the lack of drugs against COVID-19, the disease spreads rapidly and the mortality rate is relatively high. Therefore, specific drugs against 2019-nCoV need to be quickly screened. The antimalarial drug chloroquine phosphate which has already been approved is confirmed to have an anti-2019-nCoV effect and has been included in diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines. However, awareness of the risk of chloroquine phosphate causing acute poisoning or even death should be strengthened. The current dosage recommended in clinical treatment is larger than that in previous treatment of malaria and the period of treatment is longer. Many provinces have required close clinical monitoring of adverse reactions. This paper reviews the pharmacological effects, poisoning and toxicological mechanisms, in vivo metabolism and distribution, and forensic issues of chloroquine drugs, in order to provide help to forensic practice and clinical work.
Betacoronavirus ; COVID-19 ; China ; Chloroquine/therapeutic use* ; Coronavirus Infections/drug therapy* ; Forensic Toxicology ; Humans ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral/drug therapy* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; COVID-19 Drug Treatment

Objective To establish an analysis method for simultaneous determination of 13 sedative substances and their metabolites in blood by liquid-liquid extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （LC-MS/MS） technology and to apply the method to actual cases. Methods The samples were extracted with ethyl acetate after an internal standard was added. The extract was condensed until it was nearly dry and then its residues were dissolved with methanol, filtered through 0.22 μm filter and finally determined. The 13 sedative substances and their metabolites were separated through the C₁₈ chromatographic column, then gradient elution was performed on them with methanol and 20 mmol/L ammonium formate （containing 0.1% formic acid） solution. After that, they were determined in the electrospray positive ion mode and quantified by internal standard method. Results The 13 sedative substances and their metabolites in blood showed good linearity in the range of 5-200 μg/L with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.990 3 to 0.999 8. The detection limits were 0.1-1.0 μg/L. Recovery rates of sedative substances were in the range of 71.2%-93.4% when solutions with concentrations of 10, 50 and 200 μg/L were added. The deviations of intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviations （RSD） were not more than 8.6%. Accuracies （bias） were within ±9.8%. Conclusion This method is rapid, simple, effective and sensitive, and can be applied to analysis of 13 sedative substances and their metabolites in blood in forensic toxicology.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Forensic Toxicology ; Hypnotics and Sedatives ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Metabolomics is an interdisciplinary subject that rose in the post-genomic era, which focuses on quantitative study of the response of living organisms to outside stimulation and pathophysiological changes, as well as multiple dynamic response of the level of in vivo metabolites caused by genetic mutation. It is extensively used in basic research of system biology, materia medica, clinical medicine, etc. In the forensic field, metabolomics mainly focuses on forensic toxicology, but with the generalization of certain techniques, it's foreseeable that metabolomics has a broad research prospect in forensic pathology. This article summarizes the major analysis techniques and methods of metabolomics, describes the research status of metabolomic techniques in the field of forensic pathology application research, including postmortem interval and death cause. Moreover, this article summarizes and discusses the potential applicable areas, in order to provide reference for relative research and application.
Autopsy ; Forensic Pathology/trends* ; Forensic Toxicology ; Humans ; Metabolomics ; Postmortem Changes

OBJECTIVE: Penetrating brain trauma (PBT) caused by gunshot is one of the most lethal traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and its management and confrontation is of great importance. METHODS: The authors searched retrospectively the archives from 2 similar autonomous laboratories of forensic science and toxicology in the Balkan peninsula for a 10-year period of time and included only fatal penetrating brain injuries. RESULTS: The study is conducted in 61 cadavers with gunshot PBT. All of the cadavers were victims of suicide attempt. The most common anatomical localization on the skull were the facial bones, followed by skull base, temporal and parietal bone, conducting a trajectory of the gunshot. Additional findings were atherosclerosis of the blood vessels and chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer and fatty liver. CONCLUSION: PBI has a high mortality rate. There are factors and findings from the collected data differing between the 2 aforementioned nations. Either way, better preventative measures, gun control and healthcare system are highly necessary.
Atherosclerosis ; Balkan Peninsula ; Blood Vessels ; Brain Injuries ; Brain ; Bulgaria ; Cadaver ; Chronic Disease ; Delivery of Health Care ; Ethnic Groups ; Facial Bones ; Fatty Liver ; Forensic Sciences ; Greece ; Head Injuries, Penetrating ; Humans ; Mortality ; Parietal Bone ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Retrospective Studies ; Skull ; Skull Base ; Suicide ; Toxicology ; Wounds, Gunshot

Objective To establish an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS/MS） rapid determination method for simultaneous analysis of 20 fentanyl-related substances in blood. Methods With fentanyl-D₅ as an internal standard, the blood was extracted by liquid-liquid extraction （LLE）, then separated with an ACQUITY UPLC HSS T₃ chromatographic column, and finally 20 fentanyl-related substances were simultaneously analyzed with multiple reaction monitoring （MRM） mode. Results The limits of detection （LOD） of all compounds were 0.02-0.03 ng/mL, and the limits of quantitation （LOQ） were 0.05-0.2 ng/mL. Within the mass concentration range of 0.05-40 ng/mL, 20 fentanyl-related substances had a good linear relationship, and correlation coefficients were larger than 0.99. The accuracy of the method was 87.69%-114.68% and the extraction recovery rate was 85.35%-101.80%, and no significant matrix effect was observed. The established method was successfully applied to the detection of sufentanil in rat blood after sufentanil was injected. Sufentanil could still be detected in blood of rats 10 h after sufentanil injection. Conclusion The established method has the advantages of simple pretreatment, high sensitivity and good selectivity, and can be used for the determination of fentanyl-related substances in forensic toxicology analysis.
Animals ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Fentanyl/blood* ; Forensic Toxicology ; Rats ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sufentanil/blood* ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Objective To identify tiletamine, zolazepam and their metabolites in samples from drug facilitated sexual assault by gas chromatography-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry （GC-QTOF-MS）. Methods Urine samples of victims were collected, and detected by GC-QTOF-MS after liquid-liquid extraction and concentration. The molecular formula of fragments ions was identified by determination of accurate mass numbers, to detect related substances. Results Tiletamine, zolazepam, three metabolites of tiletamine and two metabolites of zolazepam were identified in urine samples from actual cases. Conclusion GC-QTOF-MS provides abundant and accurate information of fragment ions mass numbers, which can be used for qualitative identification of tiletamine, zolazepam and their metabolites in drug facilitated sexual assault.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Forensic Toxicology/methods* ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Humans ; Sex Offenses ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Tiletamine/blood* ; Zolazepam/blood*