title: Recent applications of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in forensic science.
abstract: Recent years have seen the development of powerful technologies that have provided forensic scientists with new analytical capabilities, unimaginable only a few years ago. With liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) in particular, there has been an explosion in the range of new products available for solving many analytical problems, especially for those applications in which non-volatile, labile and/or high molecular weight compounds are being analysed. The aim of this article is to present an overview of some of the most recent applications of LC-MS (/MS) to forensic analysis. To this end, our survey encompasses the period from 2002 to 2005 and focuses on trace analysis (including chemical warfare agents, explosives and dyes), the use of alternative specimens for monitoring drugs of abuse, systematic toxicological analysis and high-throughput analysis. It is not the intention to provide an exhaustive review of the literature but rather to provide the reader with a 'flavour' of the versatility and utility of the technique within the forensic sciences.
authors.affiliation: Waters Corporation, MS Technologies Centre, Micromass UK Ltd, Atlas Park, Simonsway, Wythenshawe, Manchester M22 5PP, UK. michelle_wood@waters.com
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Marleen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laloup
authors.forename: Nele
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Samyn
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: del Mar Ramirez Fernandez
authors.forename: Ernst A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: de Bruijn
authors.forename: Robert A A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Maes
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Boeck
mesh_terms: D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents / Q000032:analysis; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D044707:Forensic Sciences / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D006801:Humans; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection
chemical_list: D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents