Development of sustainable and affordable sample preparation protocols for determination of analytes of forensic relevance

Abstract

In this thesis, several sustainable and efficient sample preparation methods were developed for the analysis of forensically relevant drugs in biological and non-biological matrices. Smartphone-based digital image colorimetry with vortex-assisted DLLME enabled on-paper detection of aspirin and salicylic acid. In-matrix alkyl chloroformate derivatization coupled with FPSE-GC-MS was optimized for NSAIDs in urine, while CPSE-GC-MS facilitated lorazepam detection in food samples from drug-facilitated crimes. Surfactant-assisted DLLME with TLC-DIC was applied for favipiravir in biological and pharmaceutical matrices, and FPSE-GC-MS was employed for sedative-hypnotic drugs in complex foods. An innovative rotating paper disc (RPD) device combined with GC-MS was further designed for the extraction of 16 drugs from urine. Collectively, these methods offer rapid, green, and reliable alternatives to conventional extraction techniques in forensic analysis. newline