Author: Amy Griffin
Griffin, Amy, 2024 The bioprofiling of illicit drugs, Flinders University, College of Science and Engineering
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Illicit drugs are a burden on society worldwide and there are many efforts made to mitigate these negative impacts. One of the main roles of forensic science is to provide information which can aid in disrupting the supply and distribution of these drugs. This is primarily achieved through chemical drug profiling, where the drugs are analyzed to determine the chemical components present which can provide information regarding how and where the drugs were synthesized or prepared. Whilst chemical drug profiling is a well-established technique, the increase in drug purity has decreased the discriminatory power of some of the methods and furthermore cannot determine the identity of those involved in the drug synthesis or preparations. The concept of biologically analysing illicit drugs for any DNA present was first investigated in 2008 and 2012 to determine if it could assist in drug profiling. The ability to profile human DNA in the drugs was deemed possible but impractical using the technology available at that time and was to be revisited in the future. The results presented within this thesis were the first investigations conducted since these preliminary studies using contemporary techniques to investigate the human DNA component within illicit drugs.
With the increase in the sensitivity of human DNA profiling techniques over the past two decades, trace DNA is now a common source of evidential material and can be transferred through a variety of mechanisms, including when handling items. For this reason, coupled with the brief manual handling involved with preparing capsules and tablets, Chapters II and III investigated a range of scenarios, from controlled to realistic, where capsules and tablets were prepared and packaged. Any trace DNA deposited was subsequently collected, yielding informative DNA profiles. Chapter IV contains a comprehensive study which investigated whether the presence of a variety of drugs and associated compounds interfere with the PCR, at both the quantification and the STR profiling PCR. Following this, Chapter V contains a study which investigated whether various drug-related compounds physically interfere with several DNA extraction processes and whether they effectively remove the soluble components. Finally, in the last data chapter illicit drugs were spiked with DNA from both saliva and trace sources. Multiple samples of drugs were synthesized within an operational laboratory and tested for human DNA. Genuine illicit drug samples seized at the Australian border were also examined for the human DNA present within the material.
Prior to the commencement of this thesis, there were no studies available indicating that drugs could be analyzed for the presence of human DNA using the techniques currently employed by operational forensic laboratories. The results of this thesis can be used by these forensic laboratories when considering adding the analysis of human DNA within the drug material to the arsenal of illicit drug profiling techniques.
Keywords: Trace DNA, DNA transfer, illicit drugs, drug profiling, DNA profiling, capsules, tablets, PCR inhibition, DNA extraction, forensic DNA analysis
Subject: Forensic & Analytical Chemistry thesis
Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2024
School: College of Science and Engineering
Supervisor: Professor Adrian Linacre