Antonia Gruber

  Faculty of Science and Engineering | University College Venlo

The toxicological nightmare of postmortem redistribution: a narrative literature review

Antonia's elevator pitch
A crucial aspect of forensic toxicology is postmortem drug analysis to obtain reliable evidence about overdoses and drug-related crimes. However, the phenomenon of postmortem redistribution (PMR) presents a challenge for this. PMR refers to changes in drug concentrations that take place after death due to passive diffusion. This thesis investigated how a compound’s pharmacokinetic properties, lipophilicity, acid-base properties, and body temperature impact this process. Markers like the cardiac blood to peripheral blood (C/P) ratio, the liver to peripheral blood (L/P) ratio and the postmortem interval (PMI) were analysed as methods to combat the threat that PMR poses for forensic toxicological analysis.