A Review on the Analytical Methods for the Detection of 1,4 Benzodiazepines in the Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Beverages

A Review on the Analytical Methods for the Detection of 1,4 Benzodiazepines in the Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Beverages

Rashmi Sharma¹, Sneha Yadav², Rajeev Kumar³

¹M.Sc. Forensic Science, ²Assistant Professor, ³Professor

Division of Forensic Science, School of Basic & Applied Science, Galgotias University,

Greater Noida, India

1. Abstract

Benzodiazepines are anti-depressive drugs and a class of psychoactive drugs which are widely used for clinical purposes and it occupies a prevalent place in mental illness. Benzodiazepines are commonly found in a variety of drug-assisted sexual assault situations, and sometimes due to delay in reporting drug-facilitated sexual assault cases (DFSA), the detection of the drug in the sample cause problems. So, in this study, researchers looked into the rapid identification and quantification of benzodiazepine in beverages collected at the drug-facilitated crimes.

Generally, four varieties of alcoholic beverages spiked with different benzodiazepines and commonly eaten in bars and gatherings (diazepam, flunitrazepam, alprazolam, clonazepam, bromazepam) have drug-facilitated crime occurrence. Due to their synergistic effects with alcohol, criminals commonly use these drugs. The researchers looked into the Benzodiazepines' sustainability in two separate storing environments, regulated at room temperature and refrigerated at (4 °C), for 25 days using a GC-MS approach for drug identification in beverages. As a result, all medicines could be detected in all beverages throughout the study period. In forensic analysis, the procedure may be used to screen BZDs in contaminated soft drinks in a simple, sensitive, and rapid manner.

Keywords: BZDs: Benzodiazepines; Beverages: DZP-Diazepam; GCMS: Gas chromatography-mass spectrometer; DFSA: Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault etc.