Current Status of Hair Analysis in Drug Detection

Hair sample, like blood, sputum or urine can act as trustworthy biological specimen for tracing drugs and chemicals. The drugs can be detected regardless of the pharmaceutical dosage form of the drug or it's mode of administration. Hair analysis may be regarded as a convenient technique for tracing the presence of drugs in particular drugs of abuse in a very low nanogram levels in blood and various body parts, even after gap of several months.The hair sample can be collected easily without causing perplexment to the patient. Furthermore, they can be stored and transported easily without refrigeration or use of preservatives. Recent reports from forensic and research laboratories argue the utility of hair analysis in tracing different xenobiotics, opiates, benzodiazepines, doping agents (steroids, diuretics etc) and environmental toxicants. Main factor affecting drug incorporation into hair are-melanin affinity, liphophilicity and alkalinity. Hair analysis can be applied in work laboratory. Furthermore it can be used not only for therapeutic drug monitoring but also for confirming pre-natal drug exposure and drug abuse. In coming future, hair analysis might depict to be promising tool in criminal investigations.