Developments and Standardization in Forensic Analysis of Medical Treatment Products

Abstract

The increasing variety of medical and alternative treatment products, including herbal products that create forensic cases, the combined investigation of multiple pharmaceutical, pharmacological and toxicological factors and the difficulty of detection in this direction have increased the burden of forensic analysis laboratories. The need to increase the number of operations and shorten the processing time in the management of this load has led to the development of analytical devices, methods and standards used in this field, while detecting more substances, developing more multi-matrix working methods, increasing the variety of devices used in instrumental analysis and automation. The most remarkable developments in this connection have been chemometric techniques and innovations related to artificial intelligence. Currently, devices containing chemometric techniques, especially macroscopic, microscopic, physicochemical, spectral, chromatographic and molecular biology-based techniques are used in forensic analysis laboratories. The growth of the data pool obtained with current techniques has necessitated the development of new strategies in data management in order to evaluate and interpret the data. The analysis of large data pools and the use of artificial intelligence to connect interdisciplinary data are software innovations that can be integrated into analytical devices for this purpose. On the other hand, standardization and applications of forensic analysis laboratories were needed to ensure quality assurance and eliminate risks in the management of their complex structures and processes. In this study, advanced analysis methods and devices used in forensic analysis laboratories in line with current developments and advances, as well as standards taken into account in laboratory processes and management, are presented.