Forensic Chemistry最新文献

{"title":"Determining extent and distribution of methamphetamine in cars: Air vs. surface vs. fabrics","authors":"Gemma L. Kerry ,&nbsp;Kirstin E. Ross ,&nbsp;G. Stewart Walker ,&nbsp;Jackie Wright","doi":"10.1016/j.forc.2024.100628","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forc.2024.100628","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Methamphetamine can be manufactured or smoked in vehicles resulting in contamination. In addition, the transportation of drugs between place of manufacture and distribution can lead to contamination. Subsequent passengers or drivers of contaminated vehicles could be exposed to thirdhand drugs. Individuals exposed to thirdhand contamination have shown adverse health symptoms including respiratory problems, headaches, and behavioural and cognitive issues. Therefore, it is important to determine the overall methamphetamine contamination extent of cars to protect public health. This study was undertaken to determine the extent and distribution of contamination on surfaces, in air and from porous materials in two cars that tested positive for methamphetamine. Air sampling was performed in two cars using two sorbent tube types, followed by solvent desorption, and analysis using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Additionally, surface wipe sampling and bulk material sampling was performed for one of the contaminated cars that was going to be destroyed. These results demonstrated that methamphetamine can be detected in air, on the surfaces of non-porous and porous materials and from within porous materials. Results also demonstrated that methamphetamine was still detected from a second, third and fourth wipe sampling event of a plastic surface, indicating that there is a necessity for further research on testing and remediation in cars.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":324,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Chemistry","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100628"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143145597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Differentiated factor expression by chemical class in the concentration of ignitable liquid residue by dynamic vapor microextraction","authors":"Mary Gregg ,&nbsp;Jennifer Berry ,&nbsp;Kavita Jeerage","doi":"10.1016/j.forc.2024.100631","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forc.2024.100631","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ignitable liquids (IL) are complex mixtures whose chromatographic profiles may vary considerably across chemical compound classes. Dynamic vapor microextraction (DVME) is an emerging technique with potential application for extracting and concentrating IL from fire debris. A previous study assessed the effects of 11 instrumental and debris factors on DVME performance by collecting chromatographic data from a designed experiment, but did not investigate whether factor effects had differential expression within individual chemical classes. In this study, that experimental data is reanalyzed to assess factor effects individually in each of five chemical classes relevant to IL identification (alkanes, cycloalkanes &amp; alkenes, aromatic-alkylbenzenes, indanes, and polynuclear aromatics), and effects are compared to the results previously reported from the original analysis. Two new instrument settings (capillary vapor trap coating and temperature) are found to have significant class-specific effects, providing additional avenues of improving DVME performance, while the effect of collection volume is found to be discordant in one class (alkane) compared to all others. Effects from uncontrollable debris factors on DVME performance are also found to be partially mitigated in certain classes through optimal instrument settings, though “optimal” may depend on the sample being analyzed. This analysis offers new insight into DVME optimization and robustness, and provides a discussion on how experimental conclusions drawn from aggregate chromatographic data, without consideration of class-specific effects, may be incomplete.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":324,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Chemistry","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100631"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143145511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Two AIE-actives difluoroboron compounds containing 3,4,5-trifluorophenyl group for latent fingerprints detection","authors":"Jiazhuang Tian ,&nbsp;Yusong Du ,&nbsp;Chunlin Chen,&nbsp;Xiangguang Li,&nbsp;Shulin Gao,&nbsp;Yanhua Yang,&nbsp;Shu Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.forc.2025.100643","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forc.2025.100643","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To meet the needs of forensic identification, two 3,4,5-trifluorophenyl-substitued difluoroboron compounds, <strong>3F-ts-BF₂</strong> with a BF₂-core and <strong>3F-ts-2BF₂</strong> with two BF₂-cores, were synthesized. It was found that two compounds exhibited solvent-dependent fluorescence shifts in eight organic solvents with different polarities and aggregation-induced emission effects in CH₃CN/water mixtures, which could be explained through time-dependent density functional theory calculations. Considering their aggregation-induced emission performances, the developers were prepared, which could clearly and quickly distinguish latent fingerprints on the surface of the glasses. In the bargain, the LFPs on the surfaces of five different substrates were also detected, it was found that the result of the LFPs imaging based on compound <strong>3F-ts-BF₂</strong> was better than that of compound <strong>3F-ts-2BF₂</strong>, which was surmised that it was possibly related to the uncoordinated amide linkage moiety in compound <strong>3F-ts-BF₂</strong>. This work provided a reference for molecular design using for latent fingerprints detection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":324,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Chemistry","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100643"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143144619","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new “tailor-made” protocol for operational latent fingermarks’ development on unfired ammunition","authors":"Ravell Bengiat ,&nbsp;Adi Dahan ,&nbsp;Michal Levin-Elad ,&nbsp;Nurit Atar ,&nbsp;Yakir Liptz ,&nbsp;Daniel Mandler ,&nbsp;Joseph Almog","doi":"10.1016/j.forc.2025.100645","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forc.2025.100645","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fingermarks’ (FM) development on unfired ammunition, found at shooting crime-scenes, provide key evidence in connecting a suspect to the crime. However, the standard FM enhancement technique for metal surfaces, ethyl cyanoacrylate (ECA) fuming, is often ineffective for this type of evidence, due to its high sensitivity to presence of residual water and salts from soil, leading to a non-selective polymerization on the entire surface. In this work, we have developed a new protocol for unfired brass ammunition suitable for standard operational conditions, and based on the “reverse-development” principle, to achieve higher sensitivity by targeting the surface, rather than the FM residues. This involves a pre-treatment stage using octyl cyanoacrylate (OCA) fuming, which provides a superhydrophobic protective layer to the FM ridges, followed by an electroless deposition reaction between a palladium complex (Na₂PdCl₄) and the brass surface. This long-chain cyanoacrylate derivative demonstrated excellent selectivity towards sebaceous residues in fingerprints, as its less reactive nature results in a polymerization that is unaffected by water, even after long exposure to moist soil (6 days, 80 % RH) prior to development. Moreover, the proposed process allowed the use of a concentrated Na₂PdCl₄ solution, without the fear of over-development when immersing large quantities of ammunition simultaneously, thus affording a successful development of 92 % of a total of 320 FMs from 20 donors. Due to its high sensitivity, robustness, and suitability for large quantities, this simple-to-use protocol has shown a high potential for the future implementation in operational use by latent fingermarks laboratories and CSI field units.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":324,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Chemistry","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100645"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143144620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development and application of ion chromatography for analyzing explosive residues in criminal Investigations: A study of ions in ATM and residues from emulsion and pipe bomb explosions","authors":"Paula Ribeiro Junho ,&nbsp;Yuri Machado ,&nbsp;Ricardo M. Orlando","doi":"10.1016/j.forc.2024.100627","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forc.2024.100627","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The criminal use of explosives, particularly in attacks on automated teller machines (ATMs), remains prevalent in many countries, including Brazil. Ion chromatography is a leading technique for analyzing residues from post-blast materials. In this study, we developed methods to analyze 8 cations and 18 anions using suppressed ion chromatography with conductivity detection. Different collection materials and procedures were also evaluated. The chromatographic methods were assessed using various metrics and demonstrated analytical performance in line with existing literature. The methods were applied to determine the ion content in three brands of swabs commonly used for sample collection. Initial results showed significant levels of various ions, which were largely removed through a simple washing process. Our findings indicate that certain swab brands of the same type perfomed better than others, and the preferred swab was used in recovery studies. We concluded that using pre-washed swabs moistened with water results in higher recovery rates and reduces interference. An ion stability test conducted over 12 weeks suggested that swabs should be stored in a refrigerator and ideally analyzed within the first week after collection to minimize analyte loss. Background samples collected from an ATM did not contain ion levels that could be mistaken for those from explosive residues. The chromatographic and sampling methods were applied to real samples from different types of explosive residues, including those from an emulsion-based explosive and a pipe bomb containing black powder substitute. The analysis successfully identified key ions: NO3⁻ and NH₄⁺ in the emulsion, and ClO₄⁻ and K⁺ in the black powder substitute, allowing us to differentiate the explosives used. This work introduces significant methodological advancements in the analysis of explosive residues, particularly through the development of an extensive chromatographic method, the mitigation of ion interferences, improved sample preservation protocols, and the successful application to real-world scenarios, distinguishing emulsion-based explosives from gunpowder.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":324,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Chemistry","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100627"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143145507","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Detection and quantitation of the semi-synthetic cannabinoid hexahydrocannabinol in seized samples from Scottish prisons","authors":"Letícia Birk ,&nbsp;Victoria Marland ,&nbsp;Sarah Eller ,&nbsp;Tiago Franco de Oliveira ,&nbsp;Niamh Nic Daéid ,&nbsp;Lorna Nisbet","doi":"10.1016/j.forc.2025.100640","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forc.2025.100640","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The dynamic new psychoactive substance market is constantly evolving and adapting as new legislative regulations are established. The prevalence of new psychoactive substances within the Scottish prison Service has been well documented, with this unique illicit drug ecosystem facilitating the detection of compounds often preceding their identification in forensic toxicology samples. This study provides an overview of two case samples seized from Scottish prisons between November 2023 and April 2024, where the semi-synthetic cannabinoid, hexahydrocannabinol, was identified following a quantitative gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. This semi-synthetic cannabinoid was detected alongside other traditional cannabinoids including cannabidiol, cannabinol, Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol, and Δ⁸-tetrahydrocannabinol. Variability of the ratio between hexahydrocannabinol isomers was observed in the samples, as well as variability in the concentrations of other cannabinoids. This highlights the importance of quantitative analysis, as distinct effects can be expected from the variable sample compositions. In conclusion, this study marks the first detections of the semi-synthetic cannabinoid, hexahydrocannabinol, within the Scottish prison estate, demonstrating its emergence within that illicit drug market.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":324,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Chemistry","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100640"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143144580","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Flammable liquids in non-flammable products as potential interferences in the determination of ignitable liquid residues in fire debris","authors":"Chaney A. Ganninger ,&nbsp;Gabriel M. Walkup ,&nbsp;Sierra M. Fleegle ,&nbsp;Glen P. Jackson","doi":"10.1016/j.forc.2025.100639","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forc.2025.100639","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The clothing of suspected arsonists is often analyzed for the presence of ignitable liquids. Personal care products (PCPs) are ubiquitous in our society and can contaminate clothing, so their potential interference is an important consideration in the interpretation of casework samples. Thirty-two samples of various hygiene products and hand cleaners were analyzed using headspace concentration-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Despite occasionally containing one or two hydrocarbon compounds found in ignitable liquids, all the antiperspirants and deodorants were readily distinguished from ignitable liquids because they lacked any of the key diagnostic features of ignitable liquids in their extracted ion profiles (EIPs). Two samples labeled as hand cleaners displayed characteristic patterns of heavy petroleum distillates, which, if found on a suspect’s clothing, could cause the misleading assumption that the source of the liquid was flammable. However, the petroleum distillates in these two hand-cleaning products were not flammable, according to both their packaging and safety data sheets, because they were formulated as emulsions with water. This study also includes a casework example of a heavy petroleum distillate in a fire debris sample. However, the co-presence of abundant fatty acid methyl esters increased the probability that the original source was either a biodiesel blend or a non-flammable formulation product and therefore raises reasonable doubt about the flammability of the original product. The results of this work are limited by the GC/MS method, which could not detect volatiles like acetone, propanol, and ethanol eluting before a retention index of 700 nor non-volatile emulsifiers/surfactants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":324,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Chemistry","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100639"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143144579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Naked-eye sensor for rapid methamphetamine screening with analyte recovery","authors":"Seiya Awata ,&nbsp;Futoshi Kikuchi ,&nbsp;Toru Oba","doi":"10.1016/j.forc.2024.100634","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forc.2024.100634","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The feasibility of a simple and rapid test to detect trace amounts of methamphetamine (MA) based on host–guest molecular interactions is demonstrated. The macrocyclic host molecule, cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]), encapsulates a single guest molecule of the indicator fluorescent dye, acridine orange (AO). Addition of MA to the mixture shifts the equilibrium by replacing the guest molecule, as reflected by the changes in AO fluorescence. Notably, the colors of 0 and 20 µM MA can be distinguished by the naked eye, and the sensitivity is 135 times higher than that of the conventional Simon’s reagent. Similar fluorescence changes have been observed in the AO•CB[7] assay between 15 and 3 °C in the pH range 6–8 in phosphate buffer. The CB[7] system can detect MA while excluding bulky amines and sugars. However, it is also sensitive to other MA-related compounds such as N-isopropylbenzylamine and dimethylsulfone. MA recovery from the host–guest complex solution was greater than 94 %, allowing more accurate analysis of valuable evidence after this rapid screening. These results indicate that the CB[7] supramolecular system for MA detection has the advantages of operational simplicity, rapidity, high sensitivity, and minimal sample consumption and is suitable for initial drug screening during field analysis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":324,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Chemistry","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100634"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143145513","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Non-targeted detection of cathinones by high-resolution mass spectrometry based on their fragmentation pattern prediction. Application to pyrrolidine analogues in a hair case of PV8","authors":"José Manuel Matey ,&nbsp;Luis Manuel Menéndez-Quintanal ,&nbsp;Félix Zapata ,&nbsp;Gemma Montalvo ,&nbsp;Carmen García-Ruiz","doi":"10.1016/j.forc.2024.100630","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forc.2024.100630","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cathinones (<em>i.e.</em>, beta-keto phenyl ethyl amines) are one of the most numerous and widespread categories among new psychoactive substances. A selective methodology based on diagnostic fragment criteria using high resolution mass spectrometry, is comprehensively evaluated. Based on the different fragmentation spectra that have been published in public databases such as mzCloud (<span><span>www.mzcloud.org</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>) and HighResNPS (<span><span>www.highresnps.com</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>), we have coded and evaluated the different analogues and substituents in the benzyl position (R₁), in the α-alkyl chain (R₃) and N-alkyl analogues (R₄ and R₅) for existing cathinones, especially focusing on tertiary amines containing a pyrrolidine ring.<!--> <!-->The proposed fragmentation pattern allows the prediction of the expected fragments for each type of cathinone. The detection of selective diagnostic fragments ions supports the identification among different cathinone analogues. In this work, the proposed methodology is extended from the primary data to the generation of peridate, through their conceptualization and proposed SQL searches. A real case of pyrrolidine cathinones not yet present on the illicit market or recently introduced is used as an example. Using this strategy and specific software, we were able to detect cathinones such as α-pyrrolidinoheptaphenone (PV8) in hair.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":324,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Chemistry","volume":"42 ","pages":"Article 100630"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143145512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development and validation of a forensic workflow for the complete profiling of illicit drugs and excipients","authors":"Mikaela J. Radke,&nbsp;Alan White,&nbsp;Wendy A. Loughlin,&nbsp;Sarah L. Cresswell","doi":"10.1016/j.forc.2024.100612","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forc.2024.100612","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The development of a complete understanding of the societal harms of illicit drug mixtures requires a greater emphasis on the complete identification of illicit and excipient compounds. To increase the feasibility of this in practice, common and emerging analytical techniques were examined in the context of developing a non-targeted forensic workflow. The purpose of this workflow was to increase the identification of excipient compounds without compromising the quality of illicit drug identification as required for admissibility of evidence in court. This incorporated the testing of simulated compound mixtures to develop the principal avenues of analysis. These pathways were then validated through the testing of unknown compound mixtures. The techniques of focus included GCMS, FTIR, LC-HRMS for identification, and LC-HRMS for quantitation. These techniques were organised into their respective categories of techniques, according to the SWGDRUG guidelines, to produce a workflow that would ensure the admissibility of evidence no matter the pathway taken. HRMS was examined as an emerging technique not currently used in illicit drug analysis facilitating non-targeted analysis pathways. From this, and in combination with GCMS, all organic components were identifiable in simulated and unknown mixtures. Partial identification was also achieved for insoluble compounds using FTIR analysis. Identification by HRMS was facilitated by comparison to reference standards and MS/MS spectra matching to the high-resolution database MzCloud. This demonstrated the applicability of HRMS, specifically the Exploris 120 Orbitrap, to the identification and quantitation of both illicit and organic excipient compounds within Forensic Chemistry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":324,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Chemistry","volume":"41 ","pages":"Article 100612"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142530884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}