7.6 General Concept of Scientific Examination of Toxicology Samples (Extraction, Identification, Confirmation by TLC, GC, GCMS)

The analytical's ladder (the exam's core): 1. The extraction — the isolation from the matrix (the blood's-and-viscera's drugs separated: the acid-base extraction; the solid-phase methods). 2. The screening — the presumptive identification: the TLC (the thin-layer chromatography — the spots' patterns; the colour tests). 3. The confirmation — the certainty's instruments: the GC (the gas chromatography — the separation); the GC-MS (the mass spectrometer's coupling — the molecular fingerprint; the forensic gold standard); the LC-MS/MS (the modern extension); the quantification (the concentration's measurement — the interpretation's base). 4. The interpretation — the findings vs the ranges (the therapeutic-toxic-lethal); the post- mortem's redistribution caveats; the report's discipline.