Evaluation of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) applications in the aspect of forensic chemistry

The most common definition of forensic science is the application of science to solve legal cases. In order to establish or rule out a connection between a suspect and a crime scene, forensic scientists analyze evidence collected from the crime scene, using multidisciplinary scientific methods (physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, medicine, psychology, sociology, etc.). The identification of the sample and determination of whether two or more objects share a similar origin have been accomplished in forensic science using a variety of analytical techniques from past to present. However nowadays, with the developing technology, new methods that are more sensitive and easy to use are preferred. One of these techniques is Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). In forensic studies, LIBS is used to examine materials like counterfeit money, drugs, explosives, fingerprints, gunshot residue, ink, paper, hair, paint, glass, etc. On the other hand, it is more useful method compared to other methods due to the absence or simplicity of sample preparation, easy to operate, allowing the analysis of major, minor or trace elements and giving rapid results. This paper presents a review of the application of LIBS in forensic chemistry and the analytical results obtained with LIBS.