Jamie Foss, Chemist II
with the Forensic Chemistry Section at Maine CDC's Health and Environmental
Testing Lab (HETL), recently presented a paper at the Northeastern
Association of Forensic Scientist’s Annual Meeting on his research related to
the analysis of drugs by Time of Flight (TOF) Mass Spectroscopy.
Maine has seen an increase in
heroin use and overdose over the past three years, resulting in an increase in
heroin samples submitted to the lab for identification. To meet this
challenge, HETL has been working with Perkin Elmer Health Sciences to beta-test
their direct sample analysis. The sensitivity and quality of the data generated
by this instrument, allows HETL to rapidly identify drugs and help its partners
gain a better understanding of the types of drugs encountered on the streets as
well as improve analysis turn-around time needed to meet the demands of the
judicial system.
