Forensic NMR metabolomics: one more arrow in the quiver

Abstract

Introduction: NMR metabolomics is increasingly used in forensics, due to the possibility of investigating both endogenous metabolic profiles and exogenous molecules that may help to describe metabolic patterns and their modifications associated to specific conditions of forensic interest. Objectives: The aim of this work was to review the recent literature and depict the information provided by NMR metabolomics. Attention has been devoted to the identification of peculiar metabolic signatures and specific ante-mortem and post-mortem profiles or biomarkers related to different conditions of forensic concern, such as the identification of biological traces, the estimation of the time since death, and the exposure to drugs of abuse. Results and Conclusion: The results of the described studies highlight how forensics can benefit from NMR metabolomics by gaining additional information that may help to shed light in several forensic issues that still deserve to be further elucidated.