Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Flualprazolam distribution in postmortem samples.

Helen H Ha1, Dani C Mata1

  • 1Toxicology Section, Orange County Crime Laboratory, Santa Ana, California, USA.

Journal of Forensic Sciences
|September 29, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

An enduring threat: NPS benzodiazepines in forensic and clinical toxicology from 2021 to 2025.

Journal of analytical toxicology·2026
Same author

Advances in analytical methodologies for detecting novel psychoactive substances: a review.

Journal of analytical toxicology·2025
Same author

Seized drug reporting of NPS helps to guide regional toxicological practice: A 17 month review between 2022 and 2023.

Journal of forensic sciences·2024
Same author

The impact of fentanyl on DUIDs and traffic fatalities: Blood and oral fluid data.

Journal of forensic sciences·2023
Same author

Postmortem Mitragynine Distribution in a Single Drug Fatality Case.

Academic forensic pathology·2023
Same author

Simultaneous quantitative analysis of 39 common toxicological drugs for increased efficiency in an ante- and postmortem laboratory.

Forensic science international·2022
Same journal

Correction to "The impact of institutional authority on forensic evidence evaluation by criminal justice professionals".

Journal of forensic sciences·2026
Same journal

Estimation of postmortem submersion interval based on microbial community composition in human remains recovered from aquatic environments.

Journal of forensic sciences·2026
Same journal

Prevalence of novel psychoactive substances in selected clinical urine specimens submitted for drug monitoring.

Journal of forensic sciences·2026
Same journal

GenoEye: A machine learning-based framework for the prediction of intermediate eye color phenotypes.

Journal of forensic sciences·2026
Same journal

Sharp force trauma analysis without animal bones: A proposal for sustainable and ethical bone proxies.

Journal of forensic sciences·2026
Same journal

Absolute dating of modern paper using <sup>14</sup>C bomb peak data of the paper fibers.

Journal of forensic sciences·2026
See all related articles

Novel psychoactive substances like flualprazolam pose public health risks. This study quantifies flualprazolam in postmortem samples, finding it in 22 of 24 cases and identifying it as a factor in 13 deaths.

Area of Science:

  • Forensic Toxicology
  • Pharmacology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) present challenges for public health and law enforcement.
  • Flualprazolam, a triazolobenzodiazepine, has emerged as a sedative with potential adverse effects similar to alprazolam.
  • Rapid data collection on NPS is crucial but often time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the distribution and concentration of flualprazolam in various postmortem biological matrices.
  • To establish quantitative data for flualprazolam in death investigation cases.
  • To assess the contribution of flualprazolam to mortality.

Main Methods:

  • Samples from death investigations (central blood, vitreous humor, liver, brain, gastric contents, urine) were analyzed.
Keywords:
benzodiazepineflualprazolamforensicnovel psychoactive substancespostmortemtoxicology

Related Experiment Videos

  • Screening was performed using liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight (LC-QTOF).
  • Quantification utilized liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with detection limits at 4 ng/ml.

    • Main Results:

    • Flualprazolam was quantified in 22 out of 24 central blood samples (average 16.3 ng/ml).
    • Detected concentrations in other matrices included urine (avg 14.4 ng/ml), brain (avg 23.2 ng/g), liver (avg 50.7 ng/g), vitreous humor (avg 7.70 ng/ml), and gastric contents (avg 0.36 mg).
    • Flualprazolam was listed as a contributing factor in the cause of death for 13 of the 24 cases.

    Conclusions:

    • Flualprazolam is frequently detected in postmortem samples from individuals involved in death investigations.
    • Quantitative data on flualprazolam distribution in various matrices is now available.
    • The presence of flualprazolam is a significant factor in a substantial portion of these cases, highlighting its public health impact.