NCJ Number
226718
Journal
Problems of Forensic Sciences Volume: 70 Dated: 2007 Pages: 161-172
Date Published
2007
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Because of preliminary findings in Poland that indicated several thousand ampoules of Corhydron, a popular anti-allergy drug that contains hydrocortisone sodium hemisuccinate, may have the label of Corhydron but contain the muscle relaxant succinylcholine chloride (which can cause death), it was necessary to develop an efficient test to determine the content of high-volume samples of Corhydron ampoules; this paper describes the test developed.
Abstract
FTIR (Fourier-Transform Infra-Red) spectroscopy in conjunction with chemometric analysis proved to be an excellent tool for the examination of the composition of powders. It allowed analysts to draw reliable conclusions about the content of Corhydron ampoules. Although reliable results were obtained by this method, confirmatory analyses were also performed with chromatographic methods, which is common practice in forensic toxicological laboratories. The described procedure enabled the analysis of 2,000-2,500 samples of Corhydron a month. From the time suspicions were first raised about the content of Corhydron in November 2006 to mid-March 2007, the presence of succinylcholine was confirmed in 24 Corhydron ampoules. When the required number of analyses is higher than was the case for the Corhydron incident, it is possible to apply near infra-red spectrometry. An additional advantage of this method is the ability to perform measurements without opening ampoules, which shortens processing time. 9 figures and 1 reference