Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology

Thin films of various polymers are currently used forwrapping various food products and illicit drugsworldwide. In thin films, polyvinyl chloride is the thirdmostwidely used polymer after the polyethylene and polypropylene. These films usually contain harmful plasticizers such as adipates, phthalates, and citrates along with other additives. Plasticizers adversely affect the human health and therefore, their migration in foodstuff must be monitored carefully. By considering all these facts, this study summarizes the utilities of non-destructive ATR-FTIR spectroscopy in the identification of base polymer as well as plasticizers in various cling films and application of multivariate analysis in the identification and classification of the cling films to their respective groups. In the present research, a considerable transfer of plasticizers from the wrappingmaterial is observed. A spectral library is developed for all 22 cling film samples for further comparison of the unknown sample. The obtained results are promising, especially for classification purposes. The multivariate method significantly provides 100% of cross-validation classification along with 99.13% discrimination. In this study, we have developed a method to compare or link a cling film which somebody uses and found that there is a transfer of plasticizers and other additives into the food and if the manufacturing company disown that this specific cling film does not belong to our company. In such type of cases, this method could link the suspected cling filmto theirmanufacturers with precision and accurateness. The chronic effect of plasticizers on human health can also be linked to the type of cling film the accused was using consistently.

A novel phytotoxicity test is described herein that employs a microplate equipped with membrane-bottomed wells. This MultiScreen[trademark] (Millipore Corp., Bedford, MA) microplate allows performance of a semistatic algal test, in which test medium is renewed periodically. With such a design, the algal test becomes comparable to other short-term tests used to evaluate chronic toxicity of chemicals and effluents. The EC50s

More or less well-defined mixtures of antibiotics used in aquacultures may be distributed in the aquatic environment. Therefore, a systematic mixture ecotoxicity study was performed with the aquaculture antibiotics oxytetracycline, oxolinic acid, erythromycin, florfenicol, and flumequine. Test organisms were freshwater algae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata), activated sludge microorganisms, and luminescent bacteria (Vibrio fischeri). Design and statistical analysis of test results were based on isobolographic analysis. Synergistic effects were observed when combinations of erythromycin and oxytetracycline were tested on activated sludge microorganisms, and in these cases model predictions indicate independent action on the different bacterial species in the sludge. As predicted from the modes of action, concentration addition was evident when flumequine and oxolinic acid were mixed and tested on sludge bacteria. In the algae test, the combined toxicity of antibiotics could not be predicted based on knowledge of the modes of action of the individual compounds. Independent of the test species, our results gave examples of combined effects that were higher than predicted based on the assumption of concentration addition. This result underlines the need to consider the effects of mixtures of antibiotics on environmental organisms. The isobolographic method appears to be a suitable tool for this purpose, particularly for well-defined mixtures with few substances.

This is a practical lab course meant to compliment the Forensic Methods and Techniques module and the order and activities follow those of the lectures.  This course has run for 3 years and is updated, sometimes with new lab activities, each year.  The syllabus here reflects the first year the course ran.

With an increasing trend of drug abuse cases encountered, better and more reliable techniques need to be established for their detection in trace amounts. Whilst color tests are applied commonly to detect and identify the drugs, Marquis Reagent test still predominantly emerges as the most effective and reliable analytical protocol. According to literature review, the preparation of Marquis Reagent varies significantly. Different concentrations of formaldehyde solution used indicate the absence of a standardized protocol for its preparation. Hence, the objective of this research work was to standardize the Marquis reagent. This was achieved by varying different concentrations of formaldehyde solution in addition to glacial acetic acid and methanol. For this study, aspirin was used as test sample in two forms: Chemically synthesized aspirin and commercially purchased aspirin. A total of twenty procedures were employed in the study. A hundred percent solution preparation was found to be the most sensitive and reliable.

This document provide details on the concepts of TOXICOKINETICS/ PHARMACOKINETICS (ADME) of drugs, toxins, and toxicants administered into the human. This document also convey in-depth information relative to absorption, metabolism, distribution, and excretion of substances from the human body.

This course is a survey of as many different forensic fields as could fit into a semester.  Whenever possible, the lectures are delivered by actual practitioners in that discipline.  This course is lecture-based and is meant to be rounded out by the accompanying lab section.  This course has run for 3 years and is restructured each time to accommodate guest speaker schedules.  The document posted here reflects the first running of the course.

Food forensics is an emerging branch of forensic chemistry which comes to rescue when food is contaminated or adulterated. It helps to check food safety and quality amongst others. Food fraud in terms of adulteration is a growing problem in India. Every possible food item either raw or processed are often prone to adulteration. The present study was to identify common adulterant found in most common household consumables using simple chemical tests prescribed in the manual of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The 114 samples of 10 different food products both branded and locally available items were collected. The samples of ten different food items, i.e. Milk, Red chili powder, Tea leaves, Turmeric powder, Ghee, Honey, Pulse (yellow toor dal), Jaggery, Sugar and Asafoetida were tested. It was observed that locally available items that could be loosely purchased were particularly vulnerable to adulteration.

... Germany) without additional gassing [9] in Eagle's modification of minimal essential medium supplemented with 20 mM of HEPES and Earle's salts, 2 mM ... During the flood examined, particulate matter freight varied between 0.06 and 0.25 g/L river water (for a time course of SPM ...

In this project, we apply the method of partial ordering on the ranking of 74 contaminated sites located in the county of West Zealand (Denmark). The method is based on the concept that the parameters are kept separated through the ranking analysis, and thus no weighing of the different parameter values is necessary. The ranking is displayed in a graphical form by the Hasse diagram technique to ease the interpretation. A critical comparison is made of the ranking of contaminated sites by the partial ordering method and an index function used by the county of West Zealand. Comparing the ranking by the partial ordering method to the index function shows that the choice of score points and index function highly influences the ranking result, as only four sites are equally ranked. The importance of the parameters used to identify the environmental hazard of the contaminated sites is analyzed in order to evaluate the influence of each parameter on the ranking. From among a total of six different parameters, two have high influence, two medium, and two low because of both the construction of the scoring system and the characteristics of the data.

Three decades back polymers were first introduced as bioresorbable surgical devices. Since then polymer based
nanoparticles have intrigued many research groups to be extensively used in a variety of fields. Nanocarrier formulated
with the US FDA and EMA approved biocompatible and biodegradable polymers are being explored for the controlled
delivery of various therapeutic agents. Amidst the various polymers synthesized for formulating polymeric
nanoparticles PLGA has enticed considerable attention. PLGA possess many alluring properties such as controlled and
sustained release properties, low cytotoxicity, long standing track records in biomedical applications, biocompatibility
with tissues and cells, prolonged residence time, and targeted delivery. The prime objective of this review is to
comprehensively address the issues related to PLGA based nanoparticles with special reference to methods of
preparation, characterization techniques, surface modification, mechanism of drug release and the pitfalls. The review
also critically addresses the developmental aspects of PLGA based nanocarriers in terms of targeted drug delivery, and
exploring their efficacy in vitro and in vivo.

... The concentration of amorphous FeS is estimated by acid-volatile sulfide (AVS), the most easily liberated ... of cadniiuin remaining in solution is a function of pH and solution chemistry. ... We took no special precautions to avoid sulfide oxidation, such as containment of all operations ...

Freshwater mussels fulfill an essential role in aquatic communities, but are also one of the most sensitive and rapidly declining faunal groups in North America. Rising water temperatures, caused by global climate change or industrial discharges, can further challenge impaired unionid communities, but thermal stress is almost certainly not the only stressor affecting freshwater mussels. Metals, such as copper (Cu), are a common source of toxicant exposure in aquatic environments. The toxic effects of Cu on the early life stages of freshwater mussels have been well studied, and freshwater mussels are more sensitive to Cu than most aquatic organisms. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of a sublethal copper concentration on the upper thermal tolerance of three species, Lampsilis siliquoidea, Potamilus alatus, and Ligumia recta, of juvenile freshwater mussels in 48- and 96-h tests. Thermal tolerance was determined over a range of experimental temperatures (20–42°C) at three acclimation temperatures (17, 22, and 27°C). Median lethal temperatures (LT50s) were calculated in the absence and presence of Cu, and at 48 h ranged from 34.6 to 44.4°C (mean 37.7°C) without Cu, and from 33.8 to 38.9°C (mean 35.8°C) with Cu. The LT50s at 96 h ranged from 32.5 to 35.6°C (mean 34.5°C) without Cu and from 33.0 to 35.4°C (mean 34.2°C) with Cu. Potamilus alatus had a significantly lower 48 h LT50 with Cu than without Cu at the 22°C acclimation temperature; there were no other significant differences in LT50s attributed to Cu. Survival trends showed limited evidence of interactive effects between copper and temperature for all three species, suggesting the combined stress of elevated temperatures and copper exposure to freshwater mussels should be further explored. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2010;29:691–699. © 2009 SETAC

Thin films of various polymers are currently used for wrapping various food products and illicit drugs worldwide. In thin films, polyvinyl chloride is the third most widely used polymer after the polyethylene and polypropylene. These films usually contain harmful plasticizers such as adipates, phthalates, and citrates along with other additives. Plasticizers adversely affect the human health and therefore, their migration in foodstuff must be monitored carefully. By considering all these facts, this study summarizes the utilities of non-destructive ATR-FTIR spectroscopy in the identification of base polymer as well as plasticizers in various cling films and application of multivariate analysis in the identification and classification of the cling films to their respective groups. In the present research, a considerable transfer of plasticizers from the wrapping material is observed. A spectral library is developed for all 22 cling film samples for further comparison of the unknown s...

Toxicology is the study of the nature, effects, and detection of poisons (toxins) and the treatment of poisoning. The connected discipline of toxicology includes the study of the nature and mechanisms of deleterious effects of chemicals on living beings. The study of toxicology as a distinct, yet related, discipline to pharmacology highlights the emphasis of toxicologists in formulating measures aimed at protective public health against exposures associated with toxic materials in food, air and water, as well as hazards that may be related with drugs. • Occupational toxicology For more details on abstract submission, PS: https://clinicalcasereports.conferenceseries.com/ call-for-abstracts.php

Environmentol Toxicology ond Chemistry, Vol. 8 , pp. 923-932, 1989 Printed in the USA. Pergamon Press plc ... TIME-TOXICITY RELATIONSHIPS IN FISH EXPOSED TO THE ORGANOCHLORINE PESTICIDE METHOXYCHLOR ... THOMAS A. HEMING,* ARVIND SHARMA and ...