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Perspiration versus saliva--basic aspects concerning their use in roadside drug testing.
1Institut für Rechtsmedizin und Verkehrsmedizin, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany.
International Journal of Legal Medicine
|August 5, 1999
Summary
Saliva drug testing and skin drug monitoring offer insights into recent drug use. These methods analyze drug presence in bodily fluids and skin secretions, aiding forensic interpretation.
Area of Science:
- Forensic Toxicology
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Saliva and skin secretions' composition and transport mechanisms are crucial for drug analysis.
- Understanding drug diffusion into saliva and skin is key for accurate interpretation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To discuss practical applications and forensic interpretation of saliva and skin drug testing.
- To review current data on drug detection in these matrices.
- To address sample collection, processing, and analysis for roadside testing.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on drug transport mechanisms in saliva and skin.
- Analysis of data on opioids, cocaine metabolites, cannabinoids, and amphetamines.
- Discussion of sample handling and analytical requirements for roadside drug testing.
Main Results:
- Saliva drug secretion is influenced by lipid solubility, pKa, protein binding, and pH.
- Drugs reach the skin surface via sweat, sebum, and diffusion, with the stratum corneum acting as a reservoir.
- Detection of parent drugs in saliva and on skin is important for confirming recent administration.
Conclusions:
- Saliva and skin drug monitoring provide valuable data for forensic interpretation and roadside testing.
- Test sensitivity and specificity are critical, focusing on parent drug detection.
- These methods have potential and limitations in supporting suspicions of recent drug administration.