Barry S. Levine, Sarah Kerrigan. Principles of Forensic Toxicology. Fifth Edition. Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020, 691 p. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42917-1
First published in 1999, Principles of Forensic Toxicology is now in its twentieth year of production. The book has remained a trusted textbook for students, and a reference book for laboratorians for two decades.
Although the structure of the book remains unchanged, the fifth edition has been extensively revised to reflect new analytical methods, drugs, and special topics.
A total of seven new chapters are included, bringing the total number of chapters to 40.
In Part I—Introduction, a new chapter on drug-facilitated crimes was added. This complements the existing chapters on human performance and postmortem toxicology, in addition to performance-enhancing, pain management, and forensic drug testing.
Significant updates were made with regard to Part II—Methodologies. Specimen preparation, chromatography and mass spectrometry chapters were extensively updated to reflect contemporary and emerging analytical approaches. New chapters on quantitative analytical methods, derivatization, statistics for forensic toxicology, and metrological traceability and measurement uncertainty were also added. These new additions further complement the existing method validation chapter and should provide a valuable resource to personnel in accredited forensic laboratories, and students preparing for the workplace.
In Part III—Analytes, novel psychoactive substances (NPS), emerging drugs and new therapeutic agents were included throughout. Although the landscape of drug use is ever-changing, significant updates were made to include designer benzodiazepines, novel synthetic opioids, fentalogs, synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, newer psychedelics, and other drugs.
Finally, in Part IV—Special Topics, two new chapters were added, including drugs in embalmed tissues and oral fluid testing, an area of growing importance in forensic toxicology.
It is hoped that this new fifth edition is as comprehensive as it is contemporary and remains a staple resource for students and laboratorians alike for many years to come.
Although the structure of the book remains unchanged, the fifth edition has been extensively revised to reflect new analytical methods, drugs, and special topics.
A total of seven new chapters are included, bringing the total number of chapters to 40.
In Part I—Introduction, a new chapter on drug-facilitated crimes was added. This complements the existing chapters on human performance and postmortem toxicology, in addition to performance-enhancing, pain management, and forensic drug testing.
Significant updates were made with regard to Part II—Methodologies. Specimen preparation, chromatography and mass spectrometry chapters were extensively updated to reflect contemporary and emerging analytical approaches. New chapters on quantitative analytical methods, derivatization, statistics for forensic toxicology, and metrological traceability and measurement uncertainty were also added. These new additions further complement the existing method validation chapter and should provide a valuable resource to personnel in accredited forensic laboratories, and students preparing for the workplace.
In Part III—Analytes, novel psychoactive substances (NPS), emerging drugs and new therapeutic agents were included throughout. Although the landscape of drug use is ever-changing, significant updates were made to include designer benzodiazepines, novel synthetic opioids, fentalogs, synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, newer psychedelics, and other drugs.
Finally, in Part IV—Special Topics, two new chapters were added, including drugs in embalmed tissues and oral fluid testing, an area of growing importance in forensic toxicology.
It is hoped that this new fifth edition is as comprehensive as it is contemporary and remains a staple resource for students and laboratorians alike for many years to come.
