The Chemical Structure of Endogenous Compounds of the Biological Background and Their Significance in Identification Analysis of Xenobiotics

This study concerns thanatochemistry, an important sub-branch of forensic toxicology dealing with uncontrolled biochemical post-mortem processes resulting in autosynthesis of endogenous chemical compounds. Knowledge of chemical structure of endogenous products formed in the course of autolysis and putrefaction is of paramount importance for diagnosis and indispensable for interpretation of typical intoxications involving xenobiotics. In the study, variables influencing putrefaction of dead bodies were taken into account, including appropriate preservation of autopsy material, the problem of endogenous alcohol in cases of evaluation of sobriety and levels of acetone in blood in conditions of diabetes and/or hunger. The effectiveness of the chromatographic technique (GC/MS) was tested in identification of compounds, with the possibility of applying an NIST Library Search to identify sets of compounds contained in extracts of autopsy material originating from cadavers at an extremely advanced stage of putrefaction.