Hair Testing in Forensic Toxicology: Recent Insights From Root to Tip

Hair testing in forensic toxicology is a valuable tool for detecting long-term substance exposure, offering insights that blood and urine tests may miss. Recent advancements focus on improving sample preparation and analysis methods, such as grinding and pulverization, and using sensitive analytical techniques like GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS. Despite challenges like external contamination and biological variability, hair testing is crucial in forensic investigations, workplace testing, and clinical assessments. The document emphasizes the need for standardized procedures to improve reliability and interpretation of results, addressing issues like contamination-induced false positives and intra-individual variations. Hair testing remains essential for verifying past substance exposure, particularly in cases where other biological samples are not viable.