Detection of Drugs Using XAD-2 Resin. II: Analysis of Liver in Medical Examiner's Cases

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Abstract
Toxic agents tend to accumulate in body tissues as a result of the chemical nature of the substance and the biological composition and function of the tissue. Since liver is the primary site for biotransformation, drugs tend to concentrate there in quantities generally greater than those found in blood or other body compartments [1–8]. Because of its dynamic nature and the availability of sizable quantities as a result of medicolegal autopsies, liver has become an important component of a comprehensive toxicologic investigation. Classical liquid-liquid extraction techniques [9–17] for the isolation of drugs from liver are time-consuming and cumbersome, require large quantities of both tissue and organic solvents, are often limited in the scope of compounds detected, and are not easily adaptable to the simultaneous processing of a large number of samples. Amberlite® XAD-2, a nonionic polystyrene divinylbenzene resin, has been recently applied with success as a general adsorbent for the extraction of drugs from urine [18–28] and to a more limited extent from other specimens [29–34]. Preliminary studies concerning choice of resin, column and chromatographic conditions, recovery, and other studies have been reported [35]. This paper will discuss the application of XAD-2 resin techniques to the comprehensive analysis of liver for drugs.