Applications of LC-MS in Toxicology

Analytical toxicologists are involved in the analysis of drugs and poisons in biological samples in different environments: therapeutic drug monitoring, drugs in sport, postmortem examinations, etc. Following the developments of LC-MS in the last decade and its establishment as the method of choice in the pharmaceutical industry (analytical R&D), the technique has gained favour in other scientific disciplines including analytical toxicology. This is notably due to the fact that purchase and operative costs of the equipment have gradually decreased over the same period. Many scientists in the field of analytical toxicology have already adopted LC-MS in their daily work, and this is illustrated by the increasing numbers of research papers published and presented at relevant conferences (The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists, Society of Forensic Toxicologists).