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Hair: A bio-marker for detection of drugs of abuse
Asian Journal of Psychiatry 30 (2017) 208–209
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Asian Journal of Psychiatry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ajp
Letter to the Editor Hair: A bio-marker for detection of drugs of abuse
MARK
Drugs have been used and abused for centuries now. In India, there have been three predominant causes of drug use – medicinal, religious and recreational. In the ancient times, drugs were primarily used either during religious ceremonies or for treating ailments. There were times when using drugs was considered as one of the status symbols amongst the wealthy, it was also a mode of seeking pleasure. Drug may modify one or more body function in living organism. The number of drug facilitated crimes has increased in recent years. As per the data provided by National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB, India), maximum cases pertaining to cannabis derivatives have been registered under NDPS Act (National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 2015). Various methods have been developed to detect past exposure to drugs of abuse. Once incorporated into growing hair, the drug can be detected long after it has been eliminated from conventional samples such as blood and urine (Kronstrand et al., 1998; Minoli et al., 2012; Lee et al., 2011; Milman et al., 2010). Hair samples are extensively being used for detection of drugs for forensic analysis purposes as it provides a longer detection window (Han et al., 2011; Nakahara et al., 1995). Accordingly, hair analysis has found applications in drug treatment programmes, workplace testing, criminal justice cases and child custody disputes (Nakahara et al., 1995; Khajuria and Nayak, 2013). We have conducted a study with an objective to compare the retention period of drugs (morphine and THC, major psychoactive compound in Cannabis and Opium) in human hairs. Hair samples were collected from 80 healthy subjects undergoing treatment at a de-addiction centre at three intervals i.e., on the day of an individual’s admission to the centre (day 1) then after 45 day and 90 days after the date of admission. Samples were decontaminated, digested before subjected to GC–MS analysis. Result indicates that more that 85% samples have showed the presence of detectable Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) whereas 100% of the samples showed the presence of detectable morphine till the 90th day. The concentration range of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in hair sample was 0.14–2.3 ng/mg (mean, 0.95 ng/mg) and for Morphine was 0.26–2.2 ng/mg (mean, 1.33 ng/ mg) at a LOD of 0.1 ng/mg. Further statistical analysis showed that both drugs i.e. Morphine and THC differ in degree of retention in hair indicating that drugs differ in their accumulation in the human hair over a period of time. The scope of hair analysis depends upon the detection of drugs and their metabolites followed by their quantification in the hair matrix. A hair does not have its own metabolism or excretion system for flushing out the drugs that get incorporated into it. Hair analysis has applications in forensic toxicology as by the time drug-facilitated crimes are reported to the police, the drugs in question are usually eliminated from the conventional samples, such as blood or urine; also, hair does not decompose easily as compared to other biological samples (Khajuria and Nayak, 2014, 2016). Our study clearly indicates that once morphine and THC gets incorporated into the hair, it can be detected (at least for 90 days after the last intake) and they vary in their accumulation in hair. Hair sample is being chosen over traditional biological samples like blood, urine, saliva, and tissues due to its inimitable ability of providing a longer time frame for detection of various drugs. Applications of drug testing in hair range from providing information on chronic intoxication in an individual, assist in solving drug-facilitated crimes and child custody cases and in the cases of postmortem drug screening, workplace drug testing. Furthermore, the modernization, hybridization and advancement of analytical tools and techniques will facilitate detection of drugs at lower limits with greater accuracy that is currently possible. This will lead to a wider acceptance of hair analysis for drug abuse by the criminal justice system signifying it a prodigious tool for the forensic community. Conflict of interest The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose. References Han, E., Choi, H., Lee, S., Chung, H., Song, J.M., 2011. A comparative study on the concentrations of 11-nor-(9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THCCOOH) in head and pubic hair. Forensic Sci. Int. 212 (1–3), 238–241. Khajuria, H., Nayak, B.P., 2013. Detection of drug of abuse (Morphine) in hair. Res. J. Forensic Sci. 1, 18–20. Khajuria, H., Nayak, B.P., 2014. Detection of Delta 9-tetrahy-drocannabinol (THC) in hair using GC–MS, Egypt. J. Forensic Sci. 4, 17–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejfs.2013.10.001. Khajuria, H., Nayak, B.P., 2016. Detection and accumulation of morphine in hair using GC–MS, Egypt. J. Forensic Sci. 6 (4), 337–341. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejfs.2015.12.002. December 2016. Kronstrand, R., Grundin, R., Jonsson, J., 1998. Incidence of opiates, amphetamines, and cocaine in hair and blood in fatal cases of heroin overdose. Forensic Sci. Int. 92, 29–38. Lee, D., Milman, G., Barnes, A.J., Goodwin, R.S., Hirvonen, J., Huestis, M.A., 2011. Oral fluid cannabinoids in chronic, daily Cannabis smokers during sustained, monitored abstinence. Clin. Chem. 57 (8), 1127–1136. Milman, G., Barnes, A.J., Lowe, R.H., Huestis, M.A., 2010. Simultaneous quantification of cannabinoids and metabolites in oral fluid by two-dimensional gas chromatography mass spectrometry. J. Chromatogr. A 1217 (9), 1513–1521. Minoli, M., Angeli, I., Ravelli, A., Gigli, F., Lodi, F., 2012. Detection and quantification of 11-nor-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid in hair by GC/MS/MS in negative chemical ionization mode (NCI) with a simple and rapid liquid/liquid extraction. Forensic Sci. Int. 218 (1–3), 49–52. Nakahara, Y., Takahashi, K., Kikura, R., 1995. Hair analysis for drugs of abuse, X: effect of physicochemical properties of drugs on the incorporation rates into hair. Biol. Pharm. Bull. 18, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2017.10.017 Received 16 October 2017; Accepted 22 October 2017 1876-2018/ © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Asian Journal of Psychiatry 30 (2017) 208–209
Letter to the Editor
1223–1227. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 2015. Crime in India 2015 Compendium. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Ministry of Home affairs, New Delhi. http://ncrb.nic.in/ StatPublications/CII/CII2015/FILES/Compendium-15.11.16.pdf (Accessed 15 August 2017). ⁎
Himanshu Khajuria , Biswa Prakash Nayak Amity Institute of Forensic Sciences, Amity University, Sec 125, Noida 201313, U.P., India E-mail address: [email protected]
⁎
Corresponding author.
209
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Asian Journal of Psychiatry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ajp
Letter to the Editor Hair: A bio-marker for detection of drugs of abuse
MARK
Drugs have been used and abused for centuries now. In India, there have been three predominant causes of drug use – medicinal, religious and recreational. In the ancient times, drugs were primarily used either during religious ceremonies or for treating ailments. There were times when using drugs was considered as one of the status symbols amongst the wealthy, it was also a mode of seeking pleasure. Drug may modify one or more body function in living organism. The number of drug facilitated crimes has increased in recent years. As per the data provided by National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB, India), maximum cases pertaining to cannabis derivatives have been registered under NDPS Act (National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 2015). Various methods have been developed to detect past exposure to drugs of abuse. Once incorporated into growing hair, the drug can be detected long after it has been eliminated from conventional samples such as blood and urine (Kronstrand et al., 1998; Minoli et al., 2012; Lee et al., 2011; Milman et al., 2010). Hair samples are extensively being used for detection of drugs for forensic analysis purposes as it provides a longer detection window (Han et al., 2011; Nakahara et al., 1995). Accordingly, hair analysis has found applications in drug treatment programmes, workplace testing, criminal justice cases and child custody disputes (Nakahara et al., 1995; Khajuria and Nayak, 2013). We have conducted a study with an objective to compare the retention period of drugs (morphine and THC, major psychoactive compound in Cannabis and Opium) in human hairs. Hair samples were collected from 80 healthy subjects undergoing treatment at a de-addiction centre at three intervals i.e., on the day of an individual’s admission to the centre (day 1) then after 45 day and 90 days after the date of admission. Samples were decontaminated, digested before subjected to GC–MS analysis. Result indicates that more that 85% samples have showed the presence of detectable Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) whereas 100% of the samples showed the presence of detectable morphine till the 90th day. The concentration range of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in hair sample was 0.14–2.3 ng/mg (mean, 0.95 ng/mg) and for Morphine was 0.26–2.2 ng/mg (mean, 1.33 ng/ mg) at a LOD of 0.1 ng/mg. Further statistical analysis showed that both drugs i.e. Morphine and THC differ in degree of retention in hair indicating that drugs differ in their accumulation in the human hair over a period of time. The scope of hair analysis depends upon the detection of drugs and their metabolites followed by their quantification in the hair matrix. A hair does not have its own metabolism or excretion system for flushing out the drugs that get incorporated into it. Hair analysis has applications in forensic toxicology as by the time drug-facilitated crimes are reported to the police, the drugs in question are usually eliminated from the conventional samples, such as blood or urine; also, hair does not decompose easily as compared to other biological samples (Khajuria and Nayak, 2014, 2016). Our study clearly indicates that once morphine and THC gets incorporated into the hair, it can be detected (at least for 90 days after the last intake) and they vary in their accumulation in hair. Hair sample is being chosen over traditional biological samples like blood, urine, saliva, and tissues due to its inimitable ability of providing a longer time frame for detection of various drugs. Applications of drug testing in hair range from providing information on chronic intoxication in an individual, assist in solving drug-facilitated crimes and child custody cases and in the cases of postmortem drug screening, workplace drug testing. Furthermore, the modernization, hybridization and advancement of analytical tools and techniques will facilitate detection of drugs at lower limits with greater accuracy that is currently possible. This will lead to a wider acceptance of hair analysis for drug abuse by the criminal justice system signifying it a prodigious tool for the forensic community. Conflict of interest The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose. References Han, E., Choi, H., Lee, S., Chung, H., Song, J.M., 2011. A comparative study on the concentrations of 11-nor-(9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THCCOOH) in head and pubic hair. Forensic Sci. Int. 212 (1–3), 238–241. Khajuria, H., Nayak, B.P., 2013. Detection of drug of abuse (Morphine) in hair. Res. J. Forensic Sci. 1, 18–20. Khajuria, H., Nayak, B.P., 2014. Detection of Delta 9-tetrahy-drocannabinol (THC) in hair using GC–MS, Egypt. J. Forensic Sci. 4, 17–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejfs.2013.10.001. Khajuria, H., Nayak, B.P., 2016. Detection and accumulation of morphine in hair using GC–MS, Egypt. J. Forensic Sci. 6 (4), 337–341. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejfs.2015.12.002. December 2016. Kronstrand, R., Grundin, R., Jonsson, J., 1998. Incidence of opiates, amphetamines, and cocaine in hair and blood in fatal cases of heroin overdose. Forensic Sci. Int. 92, 29–38. Lee, D., Milman, G., Barnes, A.J., Goodwin, R.S., Hirvonen, J., Huestis, M.A., 2011. Oral fluid cannabinoids in chronic, daily Cannabis smokers during sustained, monitored abstinence. Clin. Chem. 57 (8), 1127–1136. Milman, G., Barnes, A.J., Lowe, R.H., Huestis, M.A., 2010. Simultaneous quantification of cannabinoids and metabolites in oral fluid by two-dimensional gas chromatography mass spectrometry. J. Chromatogr. A 1217 (9), 1513–1521. Minoli, M., Angeli, I., Ravelli, A., Gigli, F., Lodi, F., 2012. Detection and quantification of 11-nor-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid in hair by GC/MS/MS in negative chemical ionization mode (NCI) with a simple and rapid liquid/liquid extraction. Forensic Sci. Int. 218 (1–3), 49–52. Nakahara, Y., Takahashi, K., Kikura, R., 1995. Hair analysis for drugs of abuse, X: effect of physicochemical properties of drugs on the incorporation rates into hair. Biol. Pharm. Bull. 18, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2017.10.017 Received 16 October 2017; Accepted 22 October 2017 1876-2018/ © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Asian Journal of Psychiatry 30 (2017) 208–209
Letter to the Editor
1223–1227. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 2015. Crime in India 2015 Compendium. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Ministry of Home affairs, New Delhi. http://ncrb.nic.in/ StatPublications/CII/CII2015/FILES/Compendium-15.11.16.pdf (Accessed 15 August 2017). ⁎
Himanshu Khajuria , Biswa Prakash Nayak Amity Institute of Forensic Sciences, Amity University, Sec 125, Noida 201313, U.P., India E-mail address: [email protected]
⁎
Corresponding author.
209