24 / 39
Notes:
Volume 3, Issue 2
Insights in Analytical Electrochemistry
ISSN: 2470-9867
Analytical Chemistry-Formulation 2017
August 28-30, 2017
Page 43
8
th
Annual Congress on
&
14
th
International Conference and Exhibition on
August 28-30, 2017 Brussels, Belgium
Analytical and Bioanalytical Techniques
Pharmaceutical Formulations
Forensic applications of chiral and stable isotope analysis
Sherlock Tai
University of Glasgow, UK
I
n a forensic investigation, identification of the source of physical evidence and the actual chemical composition are
important. Two types of identification techniques which may be suitable for chemical source evaluation, namely chiral
and stable isotope analysis, are introduced in this presentation. In many chemical or biochemical reactions, selectivity exists
between a pair of enantiomeric reactants, the relative amount of an enantiomeric pair may therefore be different depending on
the source. On the other hand, isotopic fractionation occurs during every physical, chemical and biological process, causing
natural variation of stable isotopic abundances of chemicals in different sources to occur. Therefore, the stable isotopic ratio can
also be a signature of chemical source. These two techniques are found to have potential on providing useful information in a
wide range of forensic and environmental applications (crime investigation, drugs, contamination, etc.) with many examples
found within the literature. In our current work, the techniques were applied to analyse synthetic cathinones, which are novel
psychoactive substances synthesized by clandestine laboratories. These substances are thus concerned by law enforcement
agencies worldwide and legislation has been set up in many countries, such as the Psychoactive Substance Act 2016 in UK.
Biography
Sherlock Tai is currently a PhD student in Forensic Medicine and Science, University of Glasgow, member of RSC, Chartered Society of Forensic Science and The
Forensic Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry Network. His research is about Forensic Chemistry and Instrumental Analysis and he is interested in utilizing profiling
techniques such as stable isotope and chiral analysis to identify possible sources of crime scene evidence.
sherlocksctai@gmail.comSherlock Tai, Insights in Analytical Electrochemistry, 3:2
DOI: 10.21767/2470-9867-C1-002