HOSA FS: Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology

Toxicology

Study of poisons

Postmortem drug testing

Drug testing with the goal of determining whether drugs were the cause or contributing factor in a death

Workplace drug testing

Testing job applicants and employees for illegal drugs in their system

Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion

ADME: the stages in which a drug moves through the body

Opiates

A large class of drugs that is distinguished by its ability to cause euphoria and relieve pain

Depressants

Opiate and cannabinoid classification

Amphetamine

A large class of drugs that creates an excitatory condition, wakefulness and euphoria

Stimulants

Amphetamine and cocaine classification

Cocaine

A substance derived from erythromycin cocoa plant that creates an excitatory condition state of wakefulness and euphoria

Cannaboids

Marijuana and other parts of the plant Cannabis with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) as the active ingredient

Polypharmacy

A mixture of drugs

Gas chromatography

Gas flowing through a coated tube separates compounds by their size, weight, and chemical reactivity with the coating of the tube or column

Cyanide

Toxic chemical inhibits the electron transport chain in the mitochondria of cells ; most toxic in its gaseous state

Carbon monoxide

The toxic gas that, if formed in combustion, binds to hemoglobin more tightly than blood and prevents the blood from carrying oxygen

Methemoglobin

Oxidized form of hemoglobin - antidote to cyanide poisoning

Immunoassays

Tests using antibodies that react with a drug or substance that recognizes the antibody

Thin Layer Chromatography

The use of a solvent that travels through a porous medium to separate compounds based on their chemical affinity with the solvent and the medium

Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry

GC-MS acronym

Mass spectroscopy

Technique based on the detection of vaporized molecules and their ironized fragments ; the detection and display of the spectra are based on the mass-to-charge ratios of the ions

LC-MS

Analytical instrument that combines a liquid chromatography with a mass spectrometry - detects more compounds than the GC-MS

Tandem mass spectrometry

A detection system with more than one mass spectrometer in a series (LC-MSⁿ)

Colorimetric testing

A device used to characterize color using a spectrometer ; used to test for the presence of metals

ICP-MS

A form of mass spectrometry used to detect inorganic materials and metals

Toxicogenomics

A persons genetic factors that effect the efficacy of a drug or poison in their system

Toxicokinetics

How drugs and poisons move through the body

LD50

Dose that is lethal to 50% of the population

Postmortem redistribution

Concentration changes in a drug that occurs after death as the drug is redistributed throughout the body

Controlled Substances Act

Legislation in the US that defines illegal drugs and classifies them by schedules

Drug Enforcement Administration

The US government agency responsible for regulation of controlled drugs

Schedule I Drugs

Drugs with a high potential for abuse and addiction, no accepted medical application (Heroin, LSD, marijuana)

Schedule II Drugs

Drugs that have a high potential for abuse or addiction but also has safe and accepted medical uses (Morphine, cocaine, methamphetamine)

Schedule III Drugs

Drugs with a lower potential for abuse and addiction, accepted medical use (Anabolic steroids, codeine, barbiturates)

Schedule IV Drugs

Drugs with a fairly low risk for abuse and addiction with many accepted medical uses (Valium)

Schedule V Drugs

Drugs with almost no risk for abuse and addiction, many medical uses (codeine cough medicine)

Cutting agents

Something added to an illegal drug to reduce its concentration

Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of Seized Drugs

SWGDRUG (Acronym)

American Society for Testing and Materials

ASTM (Acronym)

Botanical examinations

Study of various plant structures, such as roots, stems, branches, leaves, fruits, or flowers, that may be used to determine if the plants are controlled substances (Marijuana, Peyote)

Wet chemical procedures

Procedures that involve solvents, extractions, etc. ; not instrumental

Microcrystalline test

A reaction between the compound of interest and chemical reagent that results in the formation of unique crystals that can be observed with the microscope

Extraction

Separation of a compound of interest from the rest of the solution

Physical extraction

Separating a compound by its physical size

Dry extraction

Extraction that uses a solvent to dissolve and remove the compound of interest

Liquid-liquid extraction

Using a liquid to dissolve another liquid substance and remove it from a mixture

Infrared Spectrophotometry

Using the absorption of infrared radiation to produce a chemical fingerprint of a substance

Clandestine drug labratories

Illegal locations that manufacture controlled substances

Vitreous humor

The transparent gelatinous tissue filling the eyeball behind the lens, used as a sample for postmortem toxicology testing

Phencyclidine

A Schedule I drug that causes users to experience severe psychotic manifestations, was once used as a surgical anesthetic

Hallucinogens

A psychoactive drug that induces hallucinations or alters sensory experiences

Designer drug

Drugs synthesized with particular pharmacological characteristics, designed for abuse and evasion of specific drug laws

National Institute on Drug Abuse

NIDA (Acronym)

Arsenic

Poison that is tasteless, odorless, and lethal in small doses

Lead

Heavy metal that causes blue line along the gums

Steroids

Hypogonadism treatment

Acetaldehyde

Produced by alcohol as it is metabolized in the liver