Forensic chemistry

Forensic chemistry is part of applied (mainly analytical ) chemistry and, in the broad sense of the word, is almost immense in its abundance and variety of tasks it solves, for any chemical research, in essence, can be the subject of a forensic chemical examination.

Studies of air, water, soil, food and taste, commodities, human secrets and excreta, suspicious blood and seed stains, various technical preparations, written and printed documents, raw and processed medicinal substances, etc. - all this can be subject of forensic research. But even with a narrower interpretation, when forensic chemistry means that part of analytical chemistry that specifically deals with the discovery of “poisons” in case of deliberate and unintentional poisoning, the field of forensic chemistry is still quite extensive, since the very concept of “poison” seems extremely extensible.

The connection of forensic chemistry not only with toxicology and pharmacology, but also with therapy and physiology is obvious. In order to finally resolve the issues that arise during forensic chemical studies of alleged poisoning, one can not limit oneself to indications of the presence or absence of certain poisons, but it is necessary to establish or exclude the dependence or even a causal relationship between the found poison and the results noticed at autopsy, to find out - since the results found may be due to changes that occurred in the corpse after death; finally, it is necessary to solve the extremely important question of whether the found poison or secreted toxic substance can cause the symptoms that were observed during life.

Here the doctor and chemist complement each other. Examination and autopsy and physiological experiments (if necessary) fall to the doctor, and a detailed study of individual organs, body parts, secrets and excreta, the coffin, the earth surrounding it, etc., falls within the competence of a chemist, namely, a representative of rational pharmacy with practical skills and a kind of dexterity, so necessary precisely for the satisfactory completion of such tasks.

In the development of forensic chemistry as a science, chemical chemists took a most active and fruitful part (Babo, Baumert, Dragendorff, Fresenius, Hager, Hilger, Otto, Stass, Trapp), and now this industry of applied chemistry has been developed in many respects quite thoroughly. Even 15-20 years ago, in forensic chemical studies, they were usually limited to one mineral analysis, and, in relation to alkaloids, to color reactions. For the same purposes, chemical analysis is now being used in all its details and, moreover, a microscope, spectroscope, polarimeter, refractometer, and photograph.