Forensic drug screening by liquid chromatography hyphenated with high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS)

Liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) has been widely used for screening small organic molecules in complex samples. Its selectivity and sensitivity allow for broad -scope screening of thousands of analytes. However, the complexity of the acquired data has compli-cated its implementation in high-throughput laboratories that analyze hundreds of samples per week and require that multiple users be able to analyze the data. Forensic laboratories have managed to harvest the merits of LC-HRMS technology using robust and often leveled data analysis(/acquisition) workflows, without spending a disproportionate amount of time evaluating inconclusive or false positive identifications. This critical review describes the full analytical process of LC-HRMS-based forensic drug screening, from sample preparation to data analysis and beyond. Interesting solutions are highlighted, and two emerging trends will be discussed: i) the use of free online tools to improve forensic drug screening, and ii) re-use of data to improve forensic services.(c) 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

Liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) is widely used for screening small organic molecules in complex samples, allowing for broad-scope screening of thousands of analytes. However, its implementation in high-throughput laboratories with multiple users analyzing large amounts of data per week has been complicated by the complexity of the acquired data. This critical review provides a comprehensive overview of the analytical process of LC-HRMS-based forensic drug screening, highlighting interesting solutions and discussing emerging trends.