Toxicology

Forensic toxicology is the medico-legal investigation of death, poisoning, and drug use. Postmortem Forensic toxicology determines the absence or presence of drugs and their metabolites, chemicals such as ethanol and other volatile substances, carbon monoxide and other gases, metals, and other toxic chemicals in human fluids and tissues, and evaluates their role as a determinant or contributory factor in the cause and manner of death.

The mission of Forensic Toxicology unit is adherence to international standard operating procedures, provision of professional and un-biased scientific services to the community in the field of forensic analysis of toxic substances. Aim is the use of latest techniques and technologies to obtain accurate and reliable results and their interpretation.

Latest Instrumentations

The forensic toxicologists, working at PFSA, are trained in latest instrumentations used all over the world including:

  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometery (GC-MS)
  • Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FLD)
  • Gas Chromatography-Nitrogen Phosphorous Detector (GC-NPD)
  • Gc-ms tox analyzer
  • High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
  • Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA)
  • Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)
  • Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC)
  • Co-oximeter
  • Chemistry analyzer
  • Atomic absorption spectroscopy
  • Solid phase extraction

Services

Services provided by forensic toxicology unit are:

  • Identification of toxic substance
  • Screening and confirmatory tests for toxic substances
  • Quantification of toxic constituents
  • Expert witnessing in criminal and civil courts
  • Research and development in the field of forensic toxicological analysis
  • Training in forensic toxicology