Forensic applications of Raman microspectroscopy, capillary electrophoresis, chromatography, and mass spectrometry for the analysis of textile fibers, dyes, illicit drugs, and anticoagulant rodenticides

The application of Raman microspectroscopy to characterize and discriminate among aliphatic, aromatic and mixed aliphatic/aromatic undyed polyamide fibers will be discussed. Also, the ability of Raman microspectroscopy along with principal component and linear discriminant analysis to distinguish between rutile and anatase forms of the titanium dioxide (TiO2) and to make quantitative measurements of titania loading on fibers is demonstrated.;The coupling of capillary electrophoresis diode array (CE-DAD) and mass spectrometric (MS) instrumentation is a powerful technique that combines the high-resolution separation ability of CE with the sensitivity of MS. A capillary electrophoresis method with diode array detection coupled in series with electrospray mass spectrometry (CE/DAD/MS) has been developed and optimized for the analysis of cationic dyes.;Anticoagulant rodenticides are commercially available rat poisons and are often found in animal poisoning cases. The methods reported in the literature for the analysis of anticoagulant rodenticides in liver tissue are both tedious and time-consuming. A rapid extraction method for anticoagulant rodenticides has been developed using disposable pipette extraction followed by liquid chromatography/ion trap/tandem mass spectrometry. This method is effective for extraction and analysis of 9 common anticoagulants from liver specimens of animals poisoned with anticoagulant rodenticides.;Marijuana is a highly abused drug and its analysis in whole blood is an important analytical measurement for both clinical and forensic toxicology. Typical liquid-liquid extractions of Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its metabolites, 11-hydroxy-Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (OH-THC) and 11-nor-9-carboxy-Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (COON-THC), are time consuming and labor intensive. A novel solid phase extraction method for the analysis of THC and metabolites in whole blood has been developed which utilizes a pipette tip containing loose solid phase sorbent. The method, termed disposable pipette extraction (DPX), has been tested and validated by extractions of actual case samples and direct comparisons with conventional liquid-liquid procedures. This DPX method proves to be much faster without sacrificing sensitivity and selectivity for the analysis of THC and metabolites in whole blood.