Detection of cocaine metabolite in perspiration stain, menstrual bloodstain, and hair

Low nanogram and picogram quantities of cocaine metabolite equivalents were detected in extracts from perspiration stains, menstrual bloodstains, and hair using radioimmunoassay. The theory of drug inclusion in hair and its significance are discussed.     

3-Methoxytyramine in the putamen as a gauge of the postmortem interval

The armamentarium of the forensic thanatologist includes the examiner's subjective assessment of bodily changes together with comprehensive evaluation of environmental and associated factors to estimate the postmortem interval (PMI). Of the various objective means, postmortem accumulation of potassium in vitreous humor is a widely used gauge. In view of the considerable variability inherent in these techniques, an additional marker with greater accuracy would be a welcome supplement to these indices. We have developed a method of estimating PMI from the level of 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT) in the dorsal putamen of the brain. The supernatant of a sample of putamen, sonicated in 6 volumes (weight/volume) of 0.1 M perchloric acid and centrifuged at 51 000 times gravity for 10 min, was analyzed for 3-MT using high-pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. The change of 3-MT in the putamen is linearly related to the PMI (range: 5.5 to 60 h), irrespective of patient age (1 to 84 years). This observation is attributable to several factors, including high substrate (dopamine) concentration, preservation of catechol-O-methyl transferase activity, and an inactivation of monoamine oxidase activity, as a result of a decrease in tissue pO2.     

Chloroquine distribution in postmortem cases

Chloroquine concentrations in blood and tissues were examined in overdose and non-overdose cases to determine appropriate ranges for interpretation. Twenty-nine literature overdose cases and 8 non-overdose literature cases were compared with this laboratory's findings. The results indicate significant postmortem redistribution of chloroquine. Combining this laboratory's results and the literature results indicates that using a liver concentration of 150 mg/kg as a cutoff between overdose and non-overdose concentrations properly identified 30 of the 34 published cases containing liver chloroquine and 19 of the 20 presented cases.