Forensic Applications of Metabolomics: Bridging Toxicology and Postmortem Diagnostics

Forensic toxicology and forensic medicine are crucial in legal investigations, especially within civil and criminal frameworks.The rise of highthroughput analytical technologies has recently brought metabolomics-the latest field within the "omics" sciences-into focus as a significant method for identifying biochemical changes pertinent to forensic studies.Metabolomics facilitates a thorough examination of metabolic transformations in biological systems, utilizing two main strategies: Targeted analysis of specific metabolites and untargeted profiling that captures all identifiable metabolites in a sample.In both scenarios, sophisticated statistical techniques, such as univariate and multivariate analyzes and machine learning, extract valuable insights.The primary objectives of this review article are to assess the role of metabolomics in forensic toxicology and forensic medicine, to evaluate the forensic applications of metabolomics in detecting drug abuse, addiction, and the effects of new psychoactive substances (NPS), and to examine metabolomics-based methods for estimating the postmortem interval (PMI).