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Toxicology: Idabel Bernabe-Pagulayan, DMS, PHD - Crim

Toxicology is the study of poisons, including their origin, properties, effects, and detection methods. Poisoning cases can involve traffic accidents, drowning, drug abuse, homicide, or suicide. Toxicological examination analyzes internal organs, suspected toxins, and vomitus. Poisons are classified by kingdom, chemical properties, physiological actions, pharmacological actions, and isolation methods. Common analytical techniques include steam distillation, acid digestion, solvent extraction, chromatography, spectroscopy, and specific color tests.

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94 views13 pages

Toxicology: Idabel Bernabe-Pagulayan, DMS, PHD - Crim

Toxicology is the study of poisons, including their origin, properties, effects, and detection methods. Poisoning cases can involve traffic accidents, drowning, drug abuse, homicide, or suicide. Toxicological examination analyzes internal organs, suspected toxins, and vomitus. Poisons are classified by kingdom, chemical properties, physiological actions, pharmacological actions, and isolation methods. Common analytical techniques include steam distillation, acid digestion, solvent extraction, chromatography, spectroscopy, and specific color tests.

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Bacolod PS Seven
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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TOXICOLOGY

IDABEL BERNABE-PAGULAYAN, DMS,PhD.Crim


Registered Chemist, Criminologist
TOXICOLOGY (toxic – poison, and ology – study) may be defined
as the branch of science which deals with poisons, their origin,
physical and chemical properties, physiological action and
treatment of their noxious effect, and methods of detection.

POISON – is a substance which, when introduced into the body and


is absorbed through the blood stream, and acting chemically, is
capable of producing noxious effect or destroy life.

CASES INVOLVED IN TOXICOLOGY:


1. Traffic violation
2. Drowning
3. Drug abuse
4. Homicidal
5. Suicidal
Toxicological examination is requested on cases of sudden
and unexplained deaths.
EVIDENCE SUBMITTED:
1. Internal organs submitted by the medico-legal officer
2. Suspected source of the poison (food, drinks, and medicine)
3. Vomitus

BACKGROUND INFORMATION useful to the Laboratory Examiner:


A. Copy of autopsy or incident report.
B. Symptoms exhibited by the subject(s) and/or victims at the time of a
crime or by the victim prior to his death.
C. History of lists of medicines and pharmaceutical drugs prescribed for
the subject(s) and/or victim(s) of a crime.
D. Any known or suspected environmental (home or office) exposure to
toxic substances by the subject(s) and/or victim(s) of a crime.
DIAGNOSIS OF POISONING
1. Symptoms of poisoning comes suddenly to a person who can
be in good health. While disease is preceded by a number of
hours and even weeks of normal or general indisposition/

2. In cases of poisoning, symptoms commonly make their appearance


after taking food, drinks and medicines.
3. If several persons take the same food and drink; similar symptoms
occurred.
4. Diseases are generally marks slower in their progress and are
preceded by circumstances.
CLASSIFICATION OF POISONS
a) According to kingdom:
1. Animal
2. Vegetable/Plant
3. Mineral
b) According to chemical properties:
Organic and Inorganic poisons
a. Volatile
b. Non-volatile
c. Acids
d. Alkalis
e. Bacterial
f. Alkaloids
g. Animal
c) According to physiological actions:
1. Corrosives – highly irritant poisons which cause local destruction
of tissues and characterized by nausea, vomiting, great local distress.
2. Irritants – one which produces irritation or inflammation of the
mucous membranes and characterized by vomiting, pain in the
abdomen, and purging.
3. Neurotics – one which act chiefly on the nervous system
producing delirium, convulsions, and coma with disordered circulation
and respiration as the outstanding symptoms.
4. Narcotics – poisons which produce stupor, complete insensibility,
or loss of feeling.
5. Tetanics – substances which act directly upon the spinal cord
producing such spasmodic and continuous contraction of muscles as
a result of stiffness or immobility of the parts to which they are
attached.
6. Depressants – agents which retard or depress the physiological
action of an organ.
d) According to pharmacological action:
1. Substances characterized by local action
2. Substances characterized chiefly by their action after absorption.
3. Heavy metals and metalloids

e) According to methods of isolation:


1. Volatile poisons are those isolated by distillation with or without
current of steam.
2. Non-volatile poisons – those that are isolated by extraction with
organic solvents.
3. Metallic poisons
4. Substances for which special methods of isolation are required.
METHODOLOGY:
VOLATILE POISONS – These groups includes both organic and
inorganic substances which are volatile with steam and can thus be
separated by steam distillation. Ex. Phosphorus, hydrocyanic acid,
carbolic acid, cresols, thymols, napthols, chloroform, chloral hydrate,
butyl alcohol, iodoform, nitrobenzene, aniline, carbon disulfide, ethyl
alcohol, amyl alcohol, formaldehyde, and acetone.

SAMPLE

Preliminary Test Steam Distillation

Inorganic poison Organic poison


distillate distillate

Titration Instrumentation
METALLIC POISONS – this group includes poisonous metals
commonly use for both commercial and industrial purposes.

Sample
(Finely Divided)
& Acid
Acid digestion
Heat
Digested sample
Addition of copper wire
Heat to small volume
Observe the coating
of the Cu wire
Black coating – presence of As & Bi
Silver coating – presence of Hg
Grayish coating – presence of As
Instrumentation
AAS
General Analysis for Insecticides:

Finely Divided Sample


(human & animal organs
or biological material)

Stand overnight

Extracts for TLC

Organo phosphates Organo Chlorinated Carbamates

Instrumentation using
GC-MS, UV-VIS,FT- IR and HPLC

Data & Results


SCHERER’S TEST (Tres Cantos)
1. Filter paper strips wetted with saturated picric acid and sodium
carbonate; silver nitrate; and lead acetate. Let it dry.
2. Place in the erlenmeyer flask with sample, water and tartaric acid
and heat.
CN – reddish on picric acid paper
P - brown on silver nitrate paper
PbS - BLACK ON PbAc paper

REINSCH’S TEST (Metallic poison)


Sample (finely divided) plus equal volume of water. Strongly
acidified with conc. HCl. And KClO3, a pure copper was placed
in the mixture and boiled.
Ag & Hg - silvery deposit
As - grayish deposit
Sb & Bi - black deposit
GENERAL TOXICOLOGY (For Insecticides)
1. Weigh separate portions of sample.
2. Placed in an erlenmeyer flask.
3. Add hexane-acetone mixture.
4. Stoppered and soaked overnight.
5. Filter.
6. Proceed to TLC.

BLOOD ALCOHOL: Microdiffusion Method (Conway)


1. Place acid dichromate in the center chamber and 20% sodium
carbonate in the outer chamber.
2. Pipet 0.5 ml of blood and put on the outer chamber then cover.

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