Everything leaves a trace. Forensic toxicology webinar series.

Exhaled breath is an attractive biomatrix for forensic toxicological investigations. Recent findings have demonstrated the potential of using also for nonvolatile components. Human exhaled breath contains aerosol particles in sub micrometer size that are formed from the airway lining fluid. The particles contain typical proteins and lipids from this fluid. A very simple collection device has been constructed to capture the particles in a sampling procedure that is truly noninvasive in nature and only takes 2-3 min to perform. In this webinar Dr Olaf Beck, Lab Director at the Kalorinska Institute, will discuss how this specimen from exhaled breath can be used for analyzing drugs of abuse using the QQQ LC-MS/MS technique.

For forensic use only.

About the presenter

Olof Beck, Ph.D.
  • Olof Beck, Ph.D.
  • Adjunct Professor and Laboratory director of the Pharmacology Laboratory
  • Karolinska Institute

Dr. Olof Beck studied chemistry at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and received his Ph.D. degree in 1982 after working at the Karolinska Institute with studies on biogenic amines using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry methods. After a post-doctoral period at Stanford University and two years in pharmaceutical industry he returned to Karolinska Institute and department of Clinical Pharmacology in 1988. Dr. Beck is at present adjunct professor and laboratory director of the Pharmacology Laboratory comprising TDM, genotyping, clinical and workplace drugs-of-abuse testing, sports doping control and contract analyses in clinical trials. He has been active assessor in laboratory accreditation in the Nordic countries.

Research activities have resulted in over 300 publications. Areas of interest are method developments in pharmacology and toxicology with special focus on mass spectrometry, alcohol biomarkers and toxicology. Most recent work is focused on Internet drugs, breath testing for abused drugs and alcohol biomarker phosphatidylethanol.

Olof Beck received the 2015 IATDMCT Irvine Sunshine Award for his contributions to clinical toxicology.

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