Comparative chemical analyses of drug samples: general approach and application to heroin

The methodology used for the comparative chemical analyses of illicit drug seizures, and its application to a heroin comparison case, is described. The illicit drug sample is subjected to a three-step procedure. The first is the qualitative and quantitative analysis of each sample, i.e. identification and quantitation of major and minor constituents. The second is the analysis of trace level impurities contained in each sample, after isolation from the drug matrix. The last step is the isotopic analysis of each sample, i.e. the determination of the isotopic enrichment of the major constituents. That analytical procedure, applied to heroin, allowed the determination of common batch samples with a high degree of certainty.