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President's Message VOLUME 43 • ISSUE 4 T XTALKTOXTALK® EDITOR PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Robert Johnson, Ph.D., F-ABFT ASSOCIATE EDITOR SO-SOFTS and other volunteers who What a wonderful Chris Heartsill, B.S., D-ABFT-FT meeting in San An- gave their valuable time for the cause. tonio! If you were Additionally, I would like to once again thank Kayla Ellefsen for serving as the EDITOR EMERITUS unable to attend, Yale Caplan, Ph.D., F-ABFT you missed a great JAT Special Editor. time of quality sci- TOXTALK The scientific portion of the meeting SECTION EDITORS ence, professional was quite popular, with the workshops Matthew Barnhill, Ph.D., F-ABFT networking, seeing selling out quickly. This underscores Kevin G. Shanks, M.S., D-ABFT-FT old friends, and making new ones. the desire for continuing education On a personal level, I was pleased to among our membership, an item that PRESIDENT get to meet several of my Texas col- SOFT is continuing to address with Dwain Fuller, B.S., F-ABFT, TC-NRCC leagues, whose names were already OF DIRECTORS BOARD more regional workshop offerings, the familiar to me, but I had never met. Journal of Analytical Toxicology Edi- PRESIDENT ELECT The total meeting attendance was tor’s Choice CE, and hopefully some Sumandeep Rana, Ph.D. 1089 registered attendees, which I am online options in the future. told is the largest attendance ever for a non-joint meeting. That’s fantastic! TREASURER Michelle Peace kicked off the mento- Robert Sears, M.S., F-ABFT Thank you to our hosts, Brad Hall and ring program at the Young Forensic Veronica Hargrove for all your hard Toxicologists (YFT) function on Sunday work. I also want to thank the plan- SECRETARY night. I was fortunate to be able to Amy Miles, B.S. ning committee. Scientific Program attend and make the acquaintance Chairs: Peter Stout and Dayong Lee, of a few of our students and younger PAST PRESIDENT Workshop Chairs: Teresa Gray and Erin members. Round two is planned for Michelle Peace, Ph.D. Karschner, Exhibitor Liaison: Liz Kiely, the American Academy of Forensic Food and Beverage: Ann Marie Gor- Sciences meeting in February. I am DIRECTORS don and Denice Teem, YFT Chair: Kim excited to see where this goes. Samano, Volunteer Coordinators: Kayla Denice Teem, B.S., D-ABFT-FT Ellefsen and MacKenzie Dunn, Mobile At the business meeting the member- Erin Spargo, Ph.D., F-ABFT Application: Rusty Lewis, Roxane M. ship voted for some minor changes to Tate Yeatman, M.S., F-ABFT, F-ABC Ritter, and Sunday Saenz, Audio/Visu- the bylaws, reinstating a “Retired” sta- Chris Heartsill, B.S., D-ABFT-FT al: Frank Wallace, and of course, Beth tus in addition to the recently added Madeline Montgomery, B.S., D-ABFT-FT Olson and CC Watson, and all of the “Emeritus” status. Additionally, a new President’s Message ............................................................................... 1-2 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Case Study .............................................................................................. 2-5 Beth Olson, MBA SOFT 2019 Meeting Recap ..................................................................... 6-13 Emerging Drugs: Flualprazolam .............................................................. 14-16 OPERATIONS AND SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER SOFT 2020 Meeting Update ............. ......................................................17-18 CC Watson 2020 JAT Special Issue .............................................................................19 2020 Call for Workshop Proposals .......................................................... 19 SOFT OFFICE AAFS Annual Meeting Update .................................................................20 1955 W. Baseline Rd., Ste 113-442 Tech-IN Tidbit: Better GC/MS Searching .................................................20-21 Mesa, AZ 85202 ICAP 2020 ................................................................................................21 STAFF INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Toxicology Literature ............................................................... 22-23 480-839-9106 Share your SOFT Pictures & Messages ................................................... 24 [email protected] PAGE 1 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE CONTINUED slate of Officers and Directors were whole and our greater awareness of honor and privilege to serve as your elected. This includes Sumandeep such issues as bias, sexual harassment, President this last year. I will contin- Rana as President, Amy Miles as diversity, etc., I charged the Culture, ue to remain committed to SOFT and President Elect, Erin Spargo as Secre- Values and Diversity Committee with serve the organization in whatever tary and Fiona Couper, Andre Sukta drafting a code of professional con- role is appropriate moving forward. and Phil Kemp as Directors. Incoming duct, which after being approved by Dwain C. Fuller, F-ABFT, TC-NRCC President Rana appointed Mick Smith the Board of Directors, each member SOFT President as Counselor and Luke Rodda as JAT will be asked to be aware of, and to Special Editor. agree to, when paying dues each year. Additionally, as a reflection of the This is my last President’s Message of changing culture of our society as a my presidency. It has been a sincere Case Study: Postmortem Distribution of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphet- amine (MDMA) and 3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) from an Acci- dental Death Due to MDMA Intoxication Danylle Kightlinger, B.S. B.S., Lucas Zarwell, M.S., Victor W. Weedn, M.D.; District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Washington, DC. Introduction found in the apartment. Approxi- phy-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) mately 18 hours after the decedent methods were conducted. Additional- 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphet- was pronounced dead, a medicolegal ly, electrolytes testing was conducted amine (MDMA), also known as Ec- stasy, is a ring-substituted derivative autopsy was performed and speci- by biosensor analysis. Subsequent to of methamphetamine. It is typically mens were submitted for toxicological the completion of the routine femoral taken in the hydrochloride salt form, analysis. After results from the initial blood testing, the remaining samples ranging in oral doses from 100 – 150 toxicological case analysis were report- previously submitted to toxicology, mg. MDMA undergoes N-demethyl- ed, additional testing was conducted were analyzed by GC/MS to gain infor- ation metabolism, forming the active to collect postmortem distribution mation about the postmortem distri- metabolite 3,4- methylenedioxy- data of MDMA and MDA. bution of MDA and MDMA. amphetamine (MDA). The effects Methods GC/MS System of MDMA often include: dizziness, hyperactivity, anorexia, headache, A medicolegal autopsy was performed An amines analysis (including: amphet- anxiety, disorientation, and insomnia and nine specimens were submitted amine, methamphetamine, ephedrine, (1). Presented is a brief case review for toxicological examination: Femo- pseudoephedrine, MDA, and MDMA) highlighting the postmortem distribu- ral Blood 1, Femoral Blood 2, Heart was performed via liquid-liquid ex- tion of MDMA and MDA in a deceased Blood 1, Heart Blood 2, Urine, Vitreous traction (LLE) with n-butyl chloride intoxication victim. Humor, Liver, Brain, and Gastric Con- followed by heptafluorobutyric an- tent. An expanded postmortem panel hydride (HFBA) derivatization. The Case Background was conducted on Femoral Blood 1 samples were reconstituted in ethyl © A 29-year-old female was found which included: headspace gas chro- acetate and analyzed using an Agilent © kneeling, face-down on her bedroom matography (HS/GC), enzyme-linked GC/MS via Agilent MassHunter data floor approximately two hours after immunosorbent assay (ELISA), basic acquisition software in Selective Ion her last known communication and screen by gas chromatography-mass Monitoring (SIM) mode (Tables 1 and pronounced dead on scene roughly 40 spectrometry-nitrogen phosphorous 2). The data was then processed using © minutes later. The scene was unre- detection (GC/MS/NPD), and drug Agilent Chemstation (Femoral Blood © markable. Three blister packets of screen by liquid chromatography-time 1) and Agilent MassHunter (all other ZzzQuil® (one empty), a bottle of Robi- of flight-mass spectrometry (LC/TOF/ samples) software over the dynamic tussin®, a pack of oral contraceptives, MS). Based on the screening results, range, 25 - 1000 ng/mL. Upon sam- two prescription bottles (Amoxicillin confirmatory, quantitative analyses pling for extraction, all case specimens and Docusate Sodium), wine and beer by analyte specific liquid chromatog- were diluted to obtain value(s) within were the only reported substances raphy-tandem mass spectrometry the linear range for MDA and MDMA. (LC/MS/MS) and gas chromatogra- Chromatographic separation of amines PAGE 2 Case Study: Postmortem Distribution of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphet- amine (MDMA) and 3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) from an Acci- dental Death Due to MDMA Intoxication Danylle Kightlinger, B.S. B.S., Lucas Zarwell, M.S., Victor W. Weedn, M.D.; District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Washington, DC. obtained by this method can be seen mal postmortem limits. The extremely heer, A. P. (2002). Distribution Study of in Figure 1. high level of MDMA present in the 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine gastric content suggested the route and 3,4-Methyldioxyamphetamine in a Results Fatal Overdose. Journal of Analytical Toxi- of administration was oral ingestion. cology, 26, 113-118. However, no tablets were found in the Findings during the medicolegal autop-
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