Lettre_chemtox_8_gb

INTERNAL STATE SECURITY BY TOXICOLOGY EXPERTISE Toxicology. . science of poisons Historical y, poison was used for hunting. From the early Christian era, it wil be used to eliminate rivals. More recently, poison became a pharmaceutical drug. It’s al about dosage. . Active substances are part of our daily life. Beside from their therapeutic use, some may be diverted from their purpose: morphine or Subutex by drug addicts, sedatives and hypnotics in case of drug -facilitated crimes. There are also doping substances: anabolic steroids or corticosteroids in sports performance, beta-blockers in business and work performance, Prozac in behaviour modifications. Social impact of affecting alertness substances is evident. Our living environment is not spared: air, water, soil and food pol ution… Chemical hazard is everywhere. Toxic gases, dioxins, pesticides, hormones, heavy metals slyly affect our health. The frightened population should know the danger. ChemTox laboratory responds to al requests. Our versatility is a testimony of efficiency and reactivity whatever is the molecule. The laboratory offers an impressive portfolio of tests utilising the latest technologies in gas and liquid chromatography. ChemTox can thereby responds to al requests including the ones related to the internal state security: fight against organised crime, road safety, protection of industrial sites, risk management and for the forensic science services. Outlined as the complementary examination with the best outcome after an autopsy, forensic toxicology has benefited from tremendous progress in analytical science over the past years. Similarly, the significant increase in toxicological expert reports for living people require us to improve even more our reports and their interpretation according to al forensic data. If judges or police officers have a problem, a need, a request… lab experts should come up with a solution. . the sooner the better, in respect to victims. ChemTox has developed analytical tests to document behaviour modifications as wel as toxic death and unknown toxic substance. New markers, alternative biological specimen like hair or saliva, larger windows of detection thanks to high-performance equipments, rigorous results interpretation with the latest scientific data. . Identify, extract, purify, isolate and quantify elements at the atomic scale, smal molecules or proteins in different specimen such as human biological tissue, burnt evidence, clothes, water… is our daily routine. Our laboratory works to develop innovative techniques, improve procedures, and discover new markers or metabolites. Traceability is the rule. Since 2008, ChemTox is ISO 17025 certified. In chal enging situations, our staff competes with ingenuity, new faster tests and simplifies interpretations thanks to their experience and to new software adapted to a specific problem. Different situations involve a wide range of analytical methods. This is the leitmotiv of ChemTox. As part of biological controls, with a window of detection of 48 to 72 hours or more for cannabis, urine is primary used for screening. This detection period has been completely modified with hair analysis. In fact, hair grows about 1 cm per month and its analysis (cm by cm) from the root (the most recent exposure) to the tip (the latest exposure) highlights traces of old histories drug use (decrease, increase or no real change). Right now, hair is used in forensic as well as in clinical field for the follow-up of drug addict or doping controls. In France, heroin substitution programs (methadone, buprenorphine) have led to drug addicts’ analytical follow-up. Ideally, in order to get medical support, drug addicts should not be simultaneously using drugs of abuse. This follow-up should be conducted by urine analyses, as for methadone, twice a week (at least for the first 3 months). Such monitoring is expensive and inefficient because it is limited to a simple result of a drug of abuse family (presence or absence) without identification or quantification of the product. Conducted once every 3 months, hair analysis offers many financial and practical advantages (sampling easy to control and easy to store) compared to urine analysis. Segmental hair analysis allows the establishment of the drug addiction profile of an individual, any consumption changes (figure) and to prescribe a substitution treatment based on scientific arguments in addition to the clinical examination. Hair analysis gives advantages for drug testing in the workplace or in other professions (construction, finance, energy, air, road or sea transport…). Hair sampling is non-invasive, stable and it’s always possible to get a second and identical lock of hair. Furthermore, hair analysis of applicants for security and high-risk positions outlines their drug addiction (urine analysis is generally negative if the applicant doesn’t take drugs few days before sampling). On the other hand, hair analysis is used to show an employee drug of abuse sobriety in the past months. In practice, urine and hair analysis are rather complementary. Urine will characterize a one time use whereas hair shows a repeated exposure. Incorporation being done in all types of hair, if head hair is missing, other hair can be taken (pubic, chest or under-arm hair) especially when head hair is dyed or bleached. Once incorporated in hair, stability of xenobiotics is exceptional. It was possible to find cocaine in Peruvian mummies’ hair (several centuries old), showing use of this alkaloid by the inhabitants of the Andes. It is now recognized by the international scientific community that ethyl glucuronide (metabolite of ethanol) in hair shows a regular use of ethanol, in particular for a quantity over 50g of pure alcohol per day. A lock of hair (root side indicated) allows the establishment of an alcohol addiction of an individual. Head hair is collected at the back of the head. A lock of about 80 hair (diameter of a pencil) is enough to screen all drugs of abuse (4 families). A second lock of hair should be collected if an other or segmental analysis is required. Locks of hair should be collected by securing them with a tie (approximately 1 cm from the root) and cut with clean scissors as close as possible from the scalp. Root ends should be aligned. The storage is easy: in a dry tube, in a kit of collection or in en envelope, at room temperature. It’s easier to store hair than urine. ChemTox is a laboratory of forensic analytical investigation Its major activity is to respond to requests from judges and police officers. This unables us to answer to all forensic requests including: e , are realized as part of custody or when taking foreign citizen for questioning. Indeed, the laboratory is open on week-days between 8 :00AM and 6 :00PM, Saturday between 8 :00AM and noon and is also available for emergency on weekends and at night. blood analyses in case of driving under the influence of drugs of abuse, refusal to cooperate, offenses and crimes blood analyses for drugs of abuse of nationals from frontline countries (Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland) arrested during their transit in France hair analysis for drugs of abuse to characterize a serious offence a yses, in 2 to 4 weeks after acceptance of the quote and regards legal deadlines: presence of alcohol and characterization of alcohol drinking (ethyl glucuronide) driving under the influence of psychoactive molecules, drugs of abuse or pharmaceutical drugs hair analysis for detection of repeated use of drugs drug-facilitated crime (robbery, rape, vunerable people chemically abused) diagnosis of drowning (strontium and elementary profile) search for traces of drugs of abuse on bills, cell phones, car, scales determination of volatil substances, hydrocarbons, fire accelerants, fire residues working accident due to psychoactive substances use a yses, developped and validated by ChemTox to answer all specific requests but nevertheless necessary to determination of hydrogen sulfide for employee working in area with production of organic decomposition (farmers, sewermen, firemen) determination of carbon monoxide in degraded blood (haemolised blood where determination of carboxyhaemoglobine is impossible), dry blood or muscles taken on charred bodies determination of different cooling liquids (Freon) a ion by analysis (cyanides, arsenic, dioxines, strychnine, pesticides…) on biological samples (blood, hair…) but also on food and beverage taken by the victim in the food industry (increase of muscle mass of animals taken to slaughter by the use of anabolic steroids, banned substances in animals feed like antibiotics, alkaloids…) in cosmetics (replacement of a material by an equivalent in a manufacturing process, counterfeit in luxury products) g not included in the French Pharmacopoeia a r such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aldehydes (formaldehyde) and sulfur compounds Although the primary metier of ChemTox lies in biological samples analysis in a forensic context, its business has expanded in the past years: Misuse of Drugs and Medicines Acts and importation of controlled substances with the identification of seized material, drug of abuse or other regulated products, counterfeit drugs and plants extracts as well as doping substances (with the determination of the degree of purity), identification of cutting agent, excipients or synthetic precursors search for traces of drugs of abuse or controlled products on daily life items such as bills, cell phones, cars, sales and other tools used in clandestine laboratory, empty packaging, blister packs and syringes search and identification of fire accelerants such as hydrocarbons, solvents and other volatile substances on fire residues, clothing and hands of suspects specialized analyses for the detection of highly toxic gases such as hydrogen sulphide (green algae from Brittany), poisoning case by analysis of food and beverage intakes by the victim: cyanide, arsenic (Napoléon B.), dioxins (Ukrainian leader), strychnine, pesticides… fraud uncovering in the food sector through research of either anabolic steroids used to build muscles from animals taken to slaughter or banned substances (antibiotics) in animal feed fraud uncovering in the cosmetic field with the replacement of an expensive raw material by an equivalent in a x c in air mainly concerns the quality of indoor air (administration, day-care, schools, apartment building) and air in the workplace (chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries) according to the national and international regulations of raw material handling in industry or laboratory, active principle in hospital or highly polluting products in building site Typically searched toxic are volatile organic compounds (VOC listed by the European Directive 2002/3/CE of the European Parliament, those mentioned by the World Health Agency in 1996 and those included in the list of the American Environment Protection Agency - US-EPA), metals, sulfide compounds, dust, active principles of pharmaceutical drugs or hormones. Among the VOC, the more toxic ones are BTEX, abbreviation for Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene, as well as formaldehyde classified among carcinogenic compounds like benzene. analysis of raw materials, end products and intermediaries of synthesis characterization of unknown compounds and degradation products n , Research Tax Credit, in ChemTox offers a large panel of services such as validation of the chemical composition of a product characterization of contaminants, unknown and degradation compounds validation of analytical methods / products ChemTox laboratory has a consequent and diversified ana gas chromatography composed of HS-GC-MS, HS-GC-FID, GC-MS, GC-MS- high performance liquid chromatography composed of HPLC/DAD, HPLC- MS/MS and UPLC-MS/MS - elemental analysis with SAA, ICP-MS and HPLC-ICP/MS for the speciation of organic and mineral compounds

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