Full Description
Hair analysis is a reliable and widely used tool to evaluate drug exposure in many fields, including workplace testing, drug abuse history and withdrawal control, post-mortem toxicology, doping control, therapeutic drug monitoring of pharmaceuticals and even environmental exposure to toxic agents. Compounds incorporated into the hair structure resist hair growth and regular washing for several months, leading to a potential chronological trace of exposure, with farther periods corresponding to the hair segments more distant from the hair root. The relentless improvement of analytical procedures and instrumental technologies, together with the continuous introduction of new psychoactive substances, have led to an increasing number of studies and practical applications of hair analysis.
This book is a comprehensive guide to hair analysis from general concepts, ideal for students and those new to the field, to interpretation and advanced methods for experts working in the area. With contributions from world-leading scientists in each field, this book describes state-of-the-art, emerging issues and recent analytical approaches to hair analysis that will serve as an essential tool to clinical and forensic toxicology laboratories across the globe.
Contents
Anatomy and Biology of Hair at Different Ages;Interpretation: Incorporation of Xenobiotics into Hair;Effects of External Contamination and Cosmetic Treatments on Hair Testing Can Be Explained... Most of the Time!;Insight into Drug Extraction from the Keratin Matrix;Recent Trends in Forensic and Clinical Applications of Hair Analysis;Multi-analyte Methods and High-resolution Mass Spectrometry for Hair Analysis;Markers of Alcohol Use;Hair Analysis to Understand the Diffusion of New Psychoactive Substances;Hair Analysis and Doping Control;Hair Versus Nail: Is There a Place for Other Keratin Matrices?;Hair Analysis in Asia;Metals in Hair;Controversies in Hair Analysis... or 30 Years of Challenges and Issues
