NCJ Number
210775
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 50 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2005 Pages: 849-852
Date Published
July 2005
Length
4 pages
Annotation
HPLC with a UV-photo diode array detector was used in performing a simulation of the heroin distribution chain for three original seizures in Israel, simulating the importer and adding varying amounts of a paracetamol-caffeine mixture to simulate intermediate and street dosages.
Abstract
Seizure 1 was known to originate from Lebanon and contained caffeine and paracetamol as additives. Seizure 2 was of unknown origin and did not contain any additives. Seizure 3 also originated from Lebanon and contained caffeine as an additive. Varying amounts of a mixture of paracetamol and caffeine were added to each of the three seizures, creating four additional samples of varying concentrations. The five samples from each batch were analyzed by HPLC, and the area ratios of various components were calculated with the use of Microsoft EXCEL 2000. A comparison of peak area ratios of various alkaloids, acetylation products, and components by HPLC distinguished the samples from each other. The additive used to simulate a distribution chain did not create any significant change in the ratios of the various alkaloids and acetylation products in the three original seizures. It was thus possible to correlate the diluted samples to an original seizure. 4 tables, 1 figure, and 25 references