Toxicological hair analysis: Pre-analytical, analytical and interpretive aspects:

Background and aimsHair analysis for drug detection is one of the widely accepted imperative techniques in the field of forensic toxicology. The current study was designed to investigate the efficacy of chromatography for detection of drugs of abuse in hair.MethodA comprehensive review of articles from last two decades on hair analyses via PubMed and similar resources was performed. Issues concerning collection, decontamination and analytical techniques are summarised. Physiochemical nature of hair, mechanism of drug incorporation and its stability in hair are briefly discussed. Furthermore, various factors affecting results and interpretation are elucidated.ResultA hair sample is chosen over traditional biological samples such blood, urine, saliva or tissues due to its inimitable ability to provide a longer time frame for drug detection. Its collection is almost non-invasive, less cumbersome and does not involve any specialised training/expertise. Recent advances in analytical technology have resulted in...