In forensic toxicology laboratories, the accuracy and precision of an analytical technique are essential in determining what drugs or chemicals may have played a role in an individual's death. In #BehindtheScience, Jen travels to Boston University's outdoor research facility, where grad students and law enforcement are trained on crime scene investigation. Is it possible to use one analytical technique to test a variety of different matrices - liquid or solid?
Sabra Botch-Jones, an assistant professor at Boston University School of Medicine's Biomedical Forensic Sciences department, joins Claude Mallet of Waters in the analytical laboratory. They show Jen a protocol to tests solid samples, starting with homogenization to convert the solid into a liquid, followed by extraction, then analysis by multidimensional chromatography, or 2DLC, to identify what drugs to target for analysis.
See their full scientific method in our application note: http://www.waters.com/2Danalysis
Watch our first episode with Sabra and Claude on how forensic laboratories use 2DLC, or LCxLC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSpzwSAIaLM
See 2D LC instrument from Waters:
http://www.waters.com/waters/ACQUITY-UPLC-2D-LC-multidimensional-LC/nav.htm?cid=10203030&locale=101
Boston University School of Medicine's Forensics program:
https://www.bu.edu/academics/gms/programs/biomedical-forensic-sciences/