Succinylcholine, a bis-quaternary ammonium compound, was extracted from embalmed tissues as an ion-pair with hexanitrodiphenylamine in methylene chloride. The evaporated ion-pair residue is demethylated with sodium benzenethiolate. The tertiary amine formed is identified and quantitated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) utilizing a 25 meter glass capillary column coated with SE 52. Identification is accomplished by retention time and mass spectrometry. Quantitation is performed after the addition of deuterated succinylcholine as an internal standard by focusing the mass spectrometer on m/z 58 (for demethylated succinylcholine) and m/z 62 (for the internal standard). The method is applied to the quantitation of succinylcholine from the embalmed kidney, liver, and muscle of rats injected i.m. with 10-200 mg/kg. After six months of storage, the succinylcholine can still be identified and quantitated with highest concentrations found in the muscle injection site. Concentrations as low as 5 ng/g are easily detected.

Medical examiners frequently rely on the finding of free morphine present in postmortem specimens to assist in certifying deaths associated with narcotics. In vitro hydrolysis of morphine-3-D glucuronide (M3DG) to free morphine was studied using variable specimen pH, initial degree of specimen putrefaction, storage temperature and time, and the effectiveness of sodium fluoride (NaF) preservation. Reagent M3DG was added to opiate-free fresh blood and urine and to autopsy-derived blood specimens. Reagent bovine glucuronidase was also added to certain specimens. Freshly collected and refrigerated NaF-preserved blood produced minimal free morphine, whereas four of five autopsy blood specimens produced free morphine from M3DG. Increased storage time, temperature, and initial degree of putrefaction resulted in greater free morphine generation despite the absence of viable bacteria. Hydrolysis occurring during specimen storage can generate free morphine from M3DG and may result in erroneous conclusions in certifying narcotic deaths.