ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 19

A Chromatographic Impurity Signature Profile Analysis for Cocaine Using Capillary Gas Chromatography
Casale, JF
Senior research chemist and forensic chemist, Drug Chemistry Laboratory, State Bureau of Investigation, NC

Waggoner, RW
Senior research chemist and forensic chemist, Drug Chemistry Laboratory, State Bureau of Investigation, NC

(Received 13 December 1990; accepted 8 February 1991)

Abstract

The signature patterns of cocaine samples were examined by capillary gas chromatography using 14 impurities commonly found in illicit cocaine samples. The procedure is based on acidic, basic, and neutral impurities introduced from the coca plant and from the processing of cocaine in clandestine laboratories. Impurities containing either alcoholic, N-nor, or carboxylic acid functional groups were analyzed as their silyl derivatives. The reported procedure provides a simple one-step assay for obtaining chromatographic impurity signature profile analyses (CISPA) of illicit cocaine samples using flame ionization detection (FID).

Keywords:
toxicology, cocaine, chromatographic analyses, cocaine impurities, signature profile, gas chromatography, CISPA

Paper ID: JFS13154J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS13154J
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