A rapid method for profiling samples of illicit heroin.

The aim of this investigation was to profile samples of illicit heroin. It involved derivatization and gas chromatographic separation followed by a fully automated data analysis. Six major constituents (acetylcodeine, 6-monoacetylmorphine, papaverine, noscapine, codeine, and morphine) were tested and analyzed. The square cosine function was used to evaluate correlation values. The method proved to be efficient and reliable providing information on links between illicit heroin samples.