This fifth episode of the 2019 R&D season of the National Institute of Justice's (NIJ's) Just Science podcast series is an interview with Dr. Rebecca Wagner, a researcher at the Virginia Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS) in Richmond, Virginia, who discusses a comparison of two validated LC/MS methods for the quantitative analysis of opioids, cocaine, and cocaine metabolites in biological matrices.
Background information notes that since 2012, the Virginia DFS has experienced a 191-percent increase in the number of reported opioids analysis results and a 1,439-percent increase in the number of reported fentanyl results for death investigations. Dr. Wagner, who is engaged in research and development for DFS, has focused on developing effective and efficient methods for validating results of a drug screening analysis of blood and urine in DUI and post-mortem toxicological screening. In the interview presented, Dr, Wagner discusses confirmation testing, sample conservation, and the development of new analytical methods.