New application of mass spectrometry-based techniques to the determination of drugs and biomarkers in hair

Forensic toxicology is the discipline dealing with the analysis of biological samples for the presence of toxins and drugs. The interpretation of the analytical results and possibilities to properly obtain them are fundamental and linked to the type of biological sample to collect, the way in which those are acquired, stored, and handled, to the choice of the analytical procedures, and to the ability to assess the changes resulting from the state of degradation of the samples. This doctoral thesis includes two main parts. The former is dedicated to the description of the main characteristics of liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and to an overview of the general aspects of hair analysis, to provide a theoretical background for the second part, which is focused on two applications of hair analysis developed during the PhD course. In particular, the experimental part firstly concerned the optimization and validation of a LC-MS/MS method for the determination of ethyl glucuronide in hair (hEtG), as marker of chronic alcohol abuse. The second experimental application was the development and validation of a new LC-MS/MS method for the determination of statins in hair as a tool for the evaluation of adherence to therapy.