CHEM 460 - Forensic Toxicology

This course covers the fundamental aspects of forensic toxicology. During the first half of the class, students will study various topics such as history of forensic toxicology, postmortem forensic toxicology, human performance toxicology, drug facilitated crimes, analytical instruments used in forensic toxicology laboratories, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of drugs. The second half of the class will focus on commonly encountered drugs and toxins. Major classes of drugs including opioids, stimulants, CNS depressants, hallucinogens, dissociative anesthetics, cannabis will be addressed. The absorption, distribution, metabolism, mode of action, and presumptive and confirmatory testing of these drugs and metabolites will be discussed.

Prerequisites: A grade of C- or better in CHEM 370.
Credits: 4