Attempted murder with pancuronium.
A nurse was accused of attempting to murder her anesthesiologist husband on two occasions by administering to him a neuromuscular blocking agent. In both episodes, urine specimens were obtained from the victim shortly after the suspected assaults. The samples were initially tested fluorometrically using Rose Bengal dye as a pairing agent. Both were presumptively positive for pancuronium. Confirmation of these results was achieved by pairing the drug with potassium iodide, extracting the complex, and submitting the extract to thin-layer chromatography (TLC) cleanup, elution at the appropriate retardation factor (Rf), and, finally, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis in the selected-ion monitoring mode. The two quaternary amines of pancuronium appear to undergo pyrolytic N-demethylation in the injection port to yield an entity amenable to capillary column gas chromatography. The mass spectrum of the compound consists of a base peak of m/z 322, with additional fragments of 292, 323, 338, and 397 m/z, each of which was monitored. The confirmed positive findings were instrumental in adjudicating the case.
Briglia
E J
EJ
Division of Medical-Legal Investigations and Forensic Sciences, County of Suffolk, Hauppauge, NY.
Davis
P L
PL
Katz
M
M
Dal Cortivo
L A
LA
D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010197:Pancuronium / Q000506:poisoning* / Q000652:urine*
D010197:Pancuronium