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Metabolites
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Metabolomics in Forensic Sciences
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Metabolomics in Forensic Sciences

A special issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989). This special issue belongs to the section "Advances in Metabolomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2021) | Viewed by 13750

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Emanuela Locci

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, Section of Legal Medicine, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
Interests: NMR spectroscopy; metabolomics; forensics; toxicology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Providing scientific evidence in forensic casework has always been challenging due to rigorous legal criteria. Over the last decade, metabolomics has been increasingly applied to investigate several conditions of forensic interest. The potential of metabolomics in forensics resides in the possibility of investigating endogenous and exogenous molecules present in a large variety of biological specimens by means of NMR spectroscopy and Gas Chromatography (GC) or Liquid Chromatography (LC) combined with Mass or Tandem Mass Spectrometry (MS or MS/MS). This Special Issue of Metabolites, “Metabolomics in Forensic Sciences”, will be devoted to the collection of both original research and review articles dealing with the investigation of specific metabolic profiles and peculiar ante-mortem and post-mortem biomarkers related to different conditions of forensic concern. The topics that will be covered include, but are not limited to, the identification of biological traces, post-mortem metabolomic profile modifications for estimating the time since death, the identification of the cause of death, and exposure to drugs of abuse, with particular attention paid to the modification of endogenous metabolomic profiles related to their acute or chronic intake. Studies performed on humans, animal models, and cell cultures are welcomed.

Dr. Emanuela Locci
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metabolites is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • metabolomics
  • forensics
  • toxicology
  • pathology
  • biological traces
  • post-mortem interval
  • drug abuse

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 6467 KiB  
Article
In Vitro Metabolic Study of Four Synthetic Cathinones: 4-MPD, 2-NMC, 4F-PHP and bk-EPDP
by Ivana Gavrilović, Yunita Gelu and Vincenzo Abbate
Metabolites 2022, 12(2), 115; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/metabo12020115 - 25 Jan 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2795
Abstract
The use of illicit drugs is exceedingly prevalent in society, and several of them can be illegally purchased from the internet. This occurrence is particularly augmented by the rapid emergence of novel psychoactive substances (NPS), which are sold and distributed as “legal highs”. [...] Read more.
The use of illicit drugs is exceedingly prevalent in society, and several of them can be illegally purchased from the internet. This occurrence is particularly augmented by the rapid emergence of novel psychoactive substances (NPS), which are sold and distributed as “legal highs”. Amongst NPS, the class of synthetic cathinones represents stimulant substances exhibiting similar effects to amphetamine and its derivatives. Despite potentially being less psychoactive than amphetamine, synthetic cathinones are harmful substances for humans, and little or no information is available regarding their pharmacology and toxicology. The present study investigated the in vitro metabolism and metabolites of four recent synthetic cathinones, namely, 1-(4-methylphenyl)-2-(methylamino)-pentanone (4-MPD), 1-(4-methylphenyl)-2-dimethylamino-propanone (2-NMC), 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl-hexanone (4F-PHP) and 1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-2-(ethylamino)-1-pentanone (bk-EPDP). Our in vitro metabolism study resulted in 24 identified metabolites, including both phase I and phase II metabolites. All metabolites were detected and identified using liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry and may serve as additional markers of abuse of these NPS in toxicological analyses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolomics in Forensic Sciences)
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11 pages, 1438 KiB  
Article
Postmortem Metabolomics Reveal Acylcarnitines as Potential Biomarkers for Fatal Oxycodone-Related Intoxication
by Albert Elmsjö, Carl Söderberg, Gerd Jakobsson, Henrik Green and Robert Kronstrand
Metabolites 2022, 12(2), 109; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/metabo12020109 - 25 Jan 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2641
Abstract
Postmortem metabolomics has recently been suggested as a potential tool for discovering new biological markers able to assist in death investigations. Interpretation of oxycodone concentrations in postmortem cases is complicated, as oxycodone tolerance leads to overlapping concentrations for oxycodone intoxications versus non-intoxications. The [...] Read more.
Postmortem metabolomics has recently been suggested as a potential tool for discovering new biological markers able to assist in death investigations. Interpretation of oxycodone concentrations in postmortem cases is complicated, as oxycodone tolerance leads to overlapping concentrations for oxycodone intoxications versus non-intoxications. The primary aim of this study was to use postmortem metabolomics to identify potential endogenous biomarkers that discriminate between oxycodone-related intoxications and non-intoxications. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry data from 934 postmortem femoral blood samples, including oxycodone intoxications and controls positive and negative for oxycodone, were used in this study. Data were processed and evaluated with XCMS and SIMCA. A clear trend in group separation was observed between intoxications and controls, with a model sensitivity and specificity of 80% and 76%. Approximately halved levels of short-, medium-, and long-chain acylcarnitines were observed for oxycodone intoxications in comparison with controls (p < 0.001). These biochemical changes seem to relate to the toxicological effects of oxycodone and potentially acylcarnitines constituting a biologically relevant biomarker for opioid poisonings. More studies are needed in order to elucidate the potential of acylcarnitines as biomarker for oxycodone toxicity and their relation to CNS-depressant effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolomics in Forensic Sciences)
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16 pages, 1004 KiB  
Article
Postmortem Metabolomics: Strategies to Assess Time-Dependent Postmortem Changes of Diazepam, Nordiazepam, Morphine, Codeine, Mirtazapine and Citalopram
by Lana Brockbals, Yannick Wartmann, Dylan Mantinieks, Linda L. Glowacki, Dimitri Gerostamoulos, Thomas Kraemer and Andrea E. Steuer
Metabolites 2021, 11(9), 643; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/metabo11090643 - 20 Sep 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2956
Abstract
Postmortem redistribution (PMR) can result in artificial drug concentration changes following death and complicate forensic case interpretation. Currently, no accurate methods for PMR prediction exist. Hence, alternative strategies were developed investigating the time-dependent postmortem behavior of diazepam, nordiazepam, morphine, codeine, mirtazapine and citalopram. [...] Read more.
Postmortem redistribution (PMR) can result in artificial drug concentration changes following death and complicate forensic case interpretation. Currently, no accurate methods for PMR prediction exist. Hence, alternative strategies were developed investigating the time-dependent postmortem behavior of diazepam, nordiazepam, morphine, codeine, mirtazapine and citalopram. For 477 authentic postmortem cases, femoral blood samples were collected at two postmortem time-points. All samples were quantified for drugs of abuse (targeted; liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry LC-MS/MS) and characterized for small endogenous molecules (untargeted; gas chromatography-high resolution MS (GC-HRMS). Trends for significant time-dependent concentration decreases (diazepam (n = 137), nordiazepam (n = 126)), increases (mirtazapine (n = 55), citalopram (n = 50)) or minimal median postmortem changes (morphine (n = 122), codeine (n = 92)) could be observed. Robust mathematical mixed effect models were created for the generalized postmortem behavior of diazepam and nordiazepam, which could be used to back-calculate drug concentrations towards a time-point closer to the estimated time of death (caution: inter-individual variability). Significant correlations between time-dependent concentration changes of morphine, mirtazapine and citalopram with individual endogenous molecules could be determined; no correlation was deemed strong enough for successful a posteriori estimation on the occurrence of PMR for specific cases. The current dataset did successfully lead to a significant knowledge gain in further understanding the time-dependent postmortem behavior of the studied drugs (of abuse). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolomics in Forensic Sciences)
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Review

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20 pages, 1418 KiB  
Review
The Application of Metabolomics in Forensic Science with Focus on Forensic Toxicology and Time-of-Death Estimation
by Joanna Dawidowska, Marta Krzyżanowska, Michał Jan Markuszewski and Michał Kaliszan
Metabolites 2021, 11(12), 801; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/metabo11120801 - 26 Nov 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3909
Abstract
Recently, the diagnostic methods used by scientists in forensic examinations have enormously expanded. Metabolomics provides an important contribution to analytical method development. The main purpose of this review was to investigate and summarize the most recent applications of metabolomics in forensic science. The [...] Read more.
Recently, the diagnostic methods used by scientists in forensic examinations have enormously expanded. Metabolomics provides an important contribution to analytical method development. The main purpose of this review was to investigate and summarize the most recent applications of metabolomics in forensic science. The primary research method was an extensive review of available international literature in PubMed. The keywords “forensic” and “metabolomics” were used as search criteria for the PubMed database scan. Most authors emphasized the analysis of different biological sample types using chromatography methods. The presented review is a summary of recently published implementations of metabolomics in forensic science and types of biological material used and techniques applied. Possible opportunities for valuable metabolomics’ applications are discussed to emphasize the essential necessities resulting in numerous nontargeted metabolomics’ assays. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolomics in Forensic Sciences)
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