Analysis of poisons and drugs in entomological specimens for forensic applications: A review

Abstract

Certain poisons and drugs can influence the growth and developmental patterns of necrophagous species, possibly affecting the accuracy of the postmortem interval (PMI) estimation. Since an accurate PMI estimate may prove an alibi (a critical aspect in criminal investigations), failure to consider factors that may affect the growth of necrophagous insects can subsequently result in the miscarriage of justice. In addition, the use of entomological specimens for diagnosing causes and circumstances surrounding death has been suggested for highly decomposed bodies, whereby conventional toxicological specimens are unavailable and/or unsuitable for analysis. In these two aspects, having the ability to determine poisons and drugs in entomological specimens appears imperative. Hence, this paper reviews pertinent articles on the analysis of poisons and drugs in entomological specimens published between 1977 and 2022, emphasizing on advantages/disadvantages of the reported instrumental analytical methods and their applications. It is organized according to the different classes of poisons and drugs, their extraction and analytical methods, as well as the results reported. Where available, information on the validation parameters of the published methods is duly discussed. This review aims to provide suitable references and guidance for future investigators wanting to carry out experiments concerning entomotoxicology for forensic applications.