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The action of solar radiation on the concentration of the ethanol metabolite ethyl glucuronide (EtG) in 40 hair samples of nonabstinent subjects was investigated. Hair samples of different colors were analyzed before and after irradiation with artificial sunlight under a light dose corresponding to 3 months of sun exposure. After irradiation, an increase of EtG concentration was detected in 55% of the samples ranging from 5% to 141%. In 16 cases, a concentration reduction ranging from −2% to −74% was observed. The measure of the level of pyrrole-2,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (PTCA), a marker of eumelanin oxidation, demonstrated the largest increase in oxidation in light brown hair where the greatest degradation of EtG was observed after irradiation. However, the rise of PTCA in all hair tested was accompanied by increase in EtG concentration in 8/10 samples and by decrease in 2/10, suggesting no correlation between the two markers. To verify if hair structure was modified by light, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was performed on irradiated hair of different colors and compared with the dark samples. SEM revealed modification of hair structure in all samples showing partial shaft exfoliation and reduction of hair thickness under the treatment with solar radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of photolysis at 365 nm of khellin in different solvents confirmed that the singlet oxygen lifetime of each solvent is responsible for the effect of the solvent on the degradation rate. Singlet oxygen is involved in the oxic route to photolysis, resulting in unstable intermediates.

Drugs incorporated into hair are exposed to the environment, and cosmetic and chemical treatments, with possible decreases in their content. Knowledge concerning the effect of sunlight on drug content in hair can be helpful to forensic toxicologists, in particular, when investigating drug concentrations above or below pre-determined cut-offs. Twenty-eight authentic positive hair samples were selected which had previously tested positive for ethyl glucuronide (EtG). Washed hair were divided into two identical tufts, with the former exposed at 13,219 J/cm2 (300–800 nm spectrum of irradiance) for 48 h in a solar simulator, and the latter kept in the dark. Hair samples were extracted and analyzed by ultra performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The percentage of photodegradation was calculated for EtG. In parallel, photodegradation processes of standard molecule dissolved in aqueous and organic solutions were studied. In 28 hair samples, positive for the targeted analyte, exposure to artificial sunlight induced an appreciable increase in EtG concentrations. The concentration range in the non-irradiated hair samples was 6.0–772.0 pg/mg, and 64.3% of samples exhibited an increase in post-irradiation samples, ranging from 7% to 255%. In seven cases, a decrease was observed ranging from −5.0% to −36.0%. Thus, either a decrease or an increase of EtG may be observed post-irradiation, depending on hair color and/or hair thickness. Because the denaturation status of hair fibers and the thickness of hair before irradiation could play a role, a scanning electron microscope study should be envisaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral fluid is an easily available specimen for studying drug use in a cohort or population. The prevalence of drugs in samples of oral fluid is the same as the prevalence in blood if using equivalent cutoff concentrations. The cutoffs in oral fluid may be higher or lower than that in blood in accordance with the median oral fluid-to-blood (OF/B) concentration ratio, but it is also influenced by the skewness of the distribution of OF/B ratios. The aim of this study was to determine formulae for the estimation of equivalent cutoff concentrations in oral fluid and blood for 12 commonly used illegal and medicinal psychoactive drugs when oral fluid was collected with Statsure Saliva·SamplerTM. Paired samples from 4,080 persons were collected and analyzed with chromatographic methods and mass spectroscopic detection. Regression formulae for the concentrations corresponding to selected percentiles in oral fluid versus the same concentration percentiles in blood were determined. The accuracy when multiplying the cutoff thresholds in blood with the average and median OF/B ratios to estimate equivalent cutoffs in oral fluid was also investigated. Prevalence regression gave the most accurate results. The regression formulae can be used to estimate equivalent cutoff concentrations in oral fluid and blood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Driving under the influence of alcohol and/or psychoactive substances increases the risk of road accidents, but it is controversial whether this affects site and severity of injuries., Material and Methods: We search for alcohol, cannabinoids, cocaine, benzodiazepines, opioids, methadone, amphetamines and barbiturates in biological fluids of 1764 traumatized drivers admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) of Padua between 2010 and 2014., Results: We note correlation between alcohol and benzodiazepines and admission in ICU and between all the intoxications and the reserved prognosis. The sites of injuries were: head (37.13%), maxillofacial (8.33%), spinal column (44.67%), thoracic (15.31%), abdominal (5%), pelvic (2.55%) and limb traumas (23.58%). We observed a correlation between head trauma (p < 0.0001), maxillofacial trauma (p = 0.0418), thoracic trauma (p = 0.0215), pelvic trauma (p = 0.0008), spinal column trauma (p < 0.0001) and the totality of the intoxication and an association between benzodiazepines and thoracic and pelvic trauma., Conclusions: Alcohol and benzodiazepines intoxication increases the risk of reserved prognosis and admission in ICU; benzodiazepines intoxication correlates with thoracic and pelvic trauma.