Forensic chemistry
In movies and books, the forensic chemist often appears. With great precision (and in a very short time), the stomach contents of the victim are examined and it is determined that the wife has poisoned the husband by pouring poison into the supper. When we talk about reality, it is not that easy, and it is not everyday that people are murdered with poison. On the other hand, there are deaths due to, for example, drugs or medication.
Forensic chemistry is based on a scientific approach to examining the samples. There must be a certainty that the substances are detected and the quantity determined in a scientifically substantiated way, because the consequence of errors is great.
Martin Worm-Leonhard, MSc., is a forensic chemist at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, and talks about the methods of analysis used to determine these substances (in Danish). But it is not necessarily just a regular chemical analysis, because in forensic chemistry you often do not know what you are looking for.
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