Forensic%20Chemistry

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Forensic Chemistry

• Drugs, Toxicology, Arson, and Explosives

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What Chemistry Is

• The study of the composition and transformation
  of matter
• Composition what it is made of
• Transformation what happens when it reacts
• Used in fingerprinting, firearms, document
  analysis, trace evidence examination, and by
  itself

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Types of Drugs

• Narcotics Relieve pain by depression of the
  central nervous system and sleep.
• Mostly derived from opium (from poppy plant)
• Morphine (pain killer), codeine (cough
  suppressant), heroin (made from morphine),
  methadone (synthetic opiate).
• Many are addictive

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• Depressants Depress central nervous system.
• Alcohol (50 of killers and 40 of victims are
  intoxicated), barbiturates (downers),
  methaqualone (sedative), tranquilizers (valium),
  chloral hydrate (knock-out drops), huffing
  substances (glue, toluene, gasoline, etc.)
• Stimulants stimulate central nervous system and
  provide alertness and decreased appetite.
• Amphetamine or methamphetamine, cocaine

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• Hallucinogens Mood- and perception-altering
  drugs
• Peyote, mescaline, psilocybin, lysergic acid
  diethylamide (LSD), dimethyltryptamine (DMT),
  marijuana and hashish (from hemp plant)
• Drug Tests Start with Screening Tests
• Spot tests - place chemical in spot plate and add
  chemical. Color change indicates the drug may be
  present.
• Also use microscopic tests and UV spectroscopy

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• Confirmatory Tests
• Infrared Spectrophotometry Substance is
  subjected to all wavelengths of IR light, and
  will absorb at certain frequencies. Each
  substance will absorb differently at each
  frequency (based on vibration of its chemical
  bonds) IR fingerprint.
• Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) GC
  separates components of the mixture, and MS
  identifies each component (by molar mass)