Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology

FORENSIC SCIENCE  cigarette butts, chewing gum, contact lenses,

clothing, rags, plastic bags, saw dust, duck
 The application of the scientific method to tape, and rope
legal questions.
 laws enforced and upheld by the criminal SCOPE OF FORENSIC CHEMISTRY
justice system.
 local law enforcement agencies.  includes collection, preservation, examination
of various samples taken from a crime scene or
FORENSIC CHEMISTRY related to a crime.
 under the department of police investigators
 sub-discipline of forensic science; roots lie in
medico-legal investigation, toxicology, and MAJOR SCOPE OF FORENSIC CHEMISTRY
microscopy.
 application of chemistry to law enforcement or
the failure of products or processes that results
to losses and accidents.
 deals with physical evidence relative to a
crime.
 involves different analytical methods used to
reveal the chemical changes that occurred
during an incident (reconstruct the sequence of
events)
 meeting both scientific and legal scores
(research, practices, presentation)
 emphasizes on methodology and validation.

 CRIMINALISTICS

 branch of forensic science focused on

evaluating physical evidence collected at
crime scenes.
 scientists as criminalists may conduct crime
scene investigation, perform analyses in the
laboratory, write reports, and testify as expert
witnesses in court.
 criminalists focus on recognizing,
documenting, collecting, preserving,
analyzing, and reporting on physical evidence.
UNITS OF FORENSIC LABORATORIES THAT UNITS EVIDENCE METHODS
USE FORENSIC CHEMISTRY Trace Polymers Stereomicroscopy
Evidence Paints Compound light
Glass microscope
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
Hair Polarizing microscope
Fiber Microspectrometry
 narcotics marijuana, and drug paraphernalia
Plastic (UV-Vis, FTIR)
 weapons, ammunition and shell casings paper Scanning electron
 explosives, flammable substances and microscope
accelerants
 body fluids, impressions such as tire markings,
shoe prints, tracks, bite marks, fabric
impressions Controlled White Color spot tests,
Substances Powders, macroscopic tests,
Colored stereomicroscopy,
chemicals, microcrystalline tests,
Botanical FTIR, GC-MS
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 Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
Conducts researches
related to cases being
examined.
Dangrous drugs
Examines body fluids
such as blood, semen,
urine,
Prepares
saliva, ortechnical
organ
Explosion & tissue
reports
for any
on laboratory
alcohol,
explosives drugs,
findings
poisonsfor court
examination and presentation and
principles testifies concerning
scientific if
Determines facts.
samples
received are of human
origin or otherwise
Guns & gunshot
residues Meets with officers,
prosecutors, lawyers
and court officers to
discuss
Conduct laboratory
gunshot
results
residue examination on
Bullet trajectory clothing and skin to
establish
Shares gunshot
his/her
range
expertise and
knowledge through
Forensic Toxicology lecture schools,
universities, police
training centers
Conducts and
paraffin
Investigating units
casts determination of
presence of gun-
Blood, alcohol & powder nitrates.
drug test

Performs analytical
examinations of
Examination of different controlled
fake products substances such as
dangerous drugs and
explosive or explosive
Fire & arson ingredients
investigation Examines trace
evidence to establish if
they have any
connection to a crime
being investigated.
Macro etching
Analyzes products to
determine if they are
Tools, other marks
fakes or if they are
& trace evidences
what they claim they
are for unfair trade
competition.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF A FORENSIC
CHEMIST

TOOLS USED IN GATHERING EVIDENCE

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Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology

MISCROSCOPE

PARTS OF A MICROSCOPE AND ITS

FUNCTIONS

An eyepiece is a magnifying
lens attached to the
microscope which helps in
magnifying the sample
Eyepiece or Ocular object. It is called an
lens eyepiece as we need to place
our eye near it in order to see
the magnifying image of the
sample.
A body tube is an integral
Body Tube part of the microscope as it
holds the eye piece and
connects it to the objective
The arm is the part of
microscope that connects to
the base and helps carry the
microscope easily. One can
Arm hold the arm with on hand

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 Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
and put another hand under
the base of the microscope
so that it can be carried
easily
The base is the bottom part
of the microscope, usually
made up of durable material
as it supports the microscope
Base to stand and provides
stability. The base is very
important as stability is very
important to gain accurate
results. With an unstable
base, the results may not be
as accurate as we require.
An illuminator is a source of
light usually situated at the
bottom/ base of the
microscope. It is a low
Illuminator voltage halogen bulb of
about 110 volts to provide
steady light to the sample in
order to facilitate the
experiment/study.
A stage is an indispensable
part of the microscope. It is a
flat surface where the slide
with the specimen is placed.
A mechanical stage is a stage
Stage used when working with
higher magnifications. It is
moved by using knobs as
even the slightest moment
can affect the results.
Stage clips are used to hold
the slides in place in the
absence of a mechanical
Stage Clip stage. It is used in
comparatively simpler
experiments. But even in
simpler experiments, the
movement of slides is crucial
hence stage clips are used to
provide stability to the
slides.
A nosepiece is the part of the
microscope which holds two
Revolving Nosepiece or or more objectives
Turret simultaneously to provide
various magnifications in
order to view the same
specimen in various
dimensions.
Objective lens is the part of
microscope responsible for
magnifying the image of
specimen. Usually there are
three objective lenses in a
Objective lens standard microscope of 10X,
40X and 100X. Depending
upon the aim of study and
nature of the specimen, the
most suitable objective lens
can be brought to use.
Low Power objective is a
short length objective, most
widely used in the
microscopes to view slides.
Low Power Objective Usually the experiments
carried, use low power
objective until the study of
the specimen is very
specific. Also due to the
short length of the objective,
it avoids ramming into the
slide and protecting it from
breaking.
High power objective, also
known as high-dry objective
is used to study a specimen
High Power Objective in very fine and detailed
manner. It is a bit longer in
length than the low power
objective and needs to be
handled with care
It is a part of the microscope
responsible for adjusting and
determining the distance
between the objective lens
Rack Stop and the specimen. It is very
important as it avoids the
ramming of objective lens
into the slide, which can
result in destroying the slide
and specimen.
The function of the
condenser lens is to collect
the light from the illuminator
and focus it on the specimen.
Condenser Lens A microscope with a
condenser provides with a
sharper and clearer image
than a microscope without a
condenser.
The diaphragm is used to
control the amount of light
reaching the specimen. In a
student scope it is a rotating
Diaphragm or Iris disk under the stage and
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 Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
above the condenser. There
are various holes in the
diaphragm in order to
facilitate the variants in the
experiments carried on.
A coarse adjustment knob is
a knob present on the arm of
Coarse adjustment a microscope. The main
knob function of this knob is to
move the specimen back or
forth to adjust the slide
containing specimen in order
to bring it to focus and show
the best image possible. The
coarse adjustment should be
carefully moved and
adjusted to attain desired
results.
Fine Adjustment Knob This knob is a sub part of the
Coarse adjustment knob. It is
used to bring the specimen
into sharp focus.

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