The Daily Bulletin

Please join the Chemistry and Physics departments for the seminar "Analytical Techniques in Profiling Heroin for Geographic Sourcing," presented by Kanwal Asif, M.S. candidate in forensic science at Buffalo State, on Thursday, October 5, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Science and Math Complex 169.

Abstract
Forensic drug analysts around the world continue to gather strategic and tactical intelligence information on heroin trafficking by conducting profiling studies of heroin. Chemical profiling techniques have been used for decades for classification and profiling of heroin to evaluate origin. This work will not only focus on chemical profiling but will also look at methods such as inorganic profiling and isotope analysis for geo-location.

The first study focuses on chemical profiling of heroin from the North Korean merchant vessel Pong Su found in Australian waters to determine the geographic origin because of the large amount of seized heroin. To determine the geographic origin of heroin, the major alkaloid ratios by both LC-DAD and CE-DAD techniques from the seized heroin are examined. Acid/neutral manufacturing byproducts were determined by solvent extraction followed by GC-MS. The study showed that even with having major alkaloid and occluded solvent profiles consistent with a Southeast Asian origin, the seized heroin from the vessel was classified as "of unknown origin." The second study focuses on inorganic profiling of heroin by ICP-MS analysis of inorganic elements. It presents an approach to identify heroin samples from the "Golden Triangle" and "Golden Crescent" based on fingerprinting in China. Classification of origins was achieved utilizing principle component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis. The development of inorganic profiling method indicated that the heroin production process in different origins could be characterized by elements involved in addition to organic impurities. The third study focused on discrimination between South America, Mexico, Southeast Asia, and Southwest Asia heroin using 87Sr/86Sr isotopes analysis of heroin for the profiling of samples from specific geographic regions. The 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio values were measured using MC-ICP-MS. This study suggests that whether the elemental strontium is biologically available from the opium or introduced as a contaminant, it carries a characteristic strontium isotope ratio associated with a geographic location.

Four major areas are known for producing heroin—Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, Mexico, and South America. Chemical profiling of heroin provides clues to the manufacturing process used. As manufacturers from different regions adopt similar practices, it becomes harder to determine the geographical location; therefore, it was desirable to target the strontium isotopes as an analyte that may discriminate between heroin samples based upon regional characteristics rather than process-related variation.