Occluded Solvent Analysis as a Basis for Heroin and Cocaine Sample Differentiation

Area of Science:

• Forensic Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Occluded solvents within drug samples offer potential markers for origin determination.
• Previous studies have explored various analytical techniques for solvent profiling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review literature on occluded solvent analysis for establishing common origin of drug samples.
• To evaluate the utility and limitations of solvent analysis in forensic investigations.

Main Methods:

• Headspace sampling and gas chromatography (GC) with mass spectrometry (MS) or other detectors.
• Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry.

Main Results:

• Solvent analysis can identify solvents used in drug production and assess their distribution.
• Determining relationships between drug samples is possible, but requires a minimum of three solvents for reliable matches.
• Matches in solvent composition may not be consistently confirmed across analyses.

Conclusions:

• Occluded solvent analysis is a valuable supplementary tool for linking drug samples.
• It complements, rather than replaces, other established comparative forensic methods.