APPLICATION OF INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED PLASMA-ATOMIC EMISSION AND MASS-SPECTROMETRY TO FORENSIC ANALYSIS OF SODIUM GAMMA-HYDROXY BUTYRATE AND EPHEDRINE HYDROCHLORIDE

The identity and relative amounts of various elements in samples of tw o compounds, sodium gamma hydroxy butyrate (GHB) and ephedrine hydroch loride (ephedrine), have been used to compare items of evidence, GHB, unapproved for use in the United States, and ephedrine, used in the il licit manufacture of methamphetamine, are currently of interest to law enforcement authorities. In this paper, the analysis of the elemental impurities in GHB by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spect rometry (ICP-AES) has been used to further the investigation of clande stine manufacturing sources. The following elements were detected in s amples of GHB: Ba,Ca, Cd, Fe; K, Mg, Ni, P, Pb, Si, Sr, and Zn. Result s were used to demonstrate an association between samples of unknown o rigin. Analysis of samples of ephedrine of known origin from legitimat e manufacturers by ICP-mass spectrometry showed that Al, Ba, Mn, Pt, R b, and Sr were the most useful for discriminating between sources and making direct comparisons. Interpretation of results with respect to t he intended use of conclusions derived from those results is discussed .