thumb|A U.S. Customs and Border Protection chemist reads a [[DNA profile to determine the origin of a commodity]]
Forensic chemistry is the application of chemistry and its subfield, forensic toxicology, in a legal setting. It involves the identification, analysis, and interpretation of substances such as drugs, toxin, accelerants, and unknown materials recovered from crimes scenes or biological samples. A forensic chemist can assist in the identification of unknown materials found at a crime scene.