Toxicology and Postmortem Drug Analysis

Author(s)	Harshada Vilas Patil
Country	India
Abstract	Postmortem toxicology helps determine the involvement of drugs and toxic substances in unexplained, suspicious, or medically unattended deaths. This study reviews established principles, sampling approaches, and analytical methods used in postmortem drug analysis. It examines biological matrices such as blood, urine, tissues, and vitreous humour, and outlines the role of techniques including GC-MS, HPLC, LC-MS, and immunoassays. The review also discusses major challenges in interpretation caused by postmortem redistribution, decomposition, and drug instability. Findings indicate that multi-sample analysis and standardized procedures improve accuracy in medico-legal investigations. The study highlights the importance of validated methods, careful interpretation, and skilled forensic toxicologists to ensure reliable outcomes in determining cause and manner of death.
Keywords	postmortem toxicology, drug analysis, forensic toxicology, postmortem redistribution, analytical methods, medico-legal investigation.
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 6, November-December 2025
Published On	2025-12-30
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i06.64997

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