Application of Hyphenated Analytical Techniques and Chemometrics in Drugs Facilitated Crime: A Forensic Investigation

Abstract

Drug-facilitated crimes are those in which a person is made a victim of a criminal conduct by means of the incapacitating impact of alcohol or illicit drugs. In drugs facilitated crimes (DFCs), advanced analytical techniques are increasingly used for drug identification. They serve as vital investigative tools for handling intricate analytical problems. In a simulated crime scene, the project's goal was to identify and examine CNS depressants (Alprazolam, Diazepam, Tramadol, Buspirone, and Clonazepam) using sophisticated hyphenated analytical techniques and chemometric methods. The principal objective of this research was to use dried spots on cotton, surfaces spiked with different CNS depressants, and beverages like Pepsi, apple juice, and milk to develop realistic crime scene scenes. Techniques including attenuated total reflectance-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD), and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were used to precisely identify and discriminate these drugs. By combining ATR-FTIR with chemometric methods like principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant analysis (PCA-DA), the precise classification of unknown depressants was accomplished. GC-MS and HPLC-DAD procedures were developed to validate the findings. When CNS depressants were extracted from suspected CNS depressants spots in crime scene samples, acceptable recoveries of 75% to 92% were obtained. As a result, this holistic approach offered reliable and effective techniques for conducting forensic investigations.