Forensic investigation of brick stones using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) and X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF)

Atomic spectrometry update–X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

“…This combination of techniques offered a high degree of discrimination when evaluated across a wide range of artificial leather samples from different manufacturers. Scheid et al 390 evaluated the use of LA-ICP-MS, INAA and XRF to demonstrate the value of these techniques in the forensic analysis of brick stones based on principal component analysis and cluster analysis of elemental data. In a different type of forensic application, portable XRF was used by Imm et al 391 to measure Br in upholstered furnishings, bedding, vehicle interiors and electronic devices in a study of human exposure pathways to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) in 38 households in Wisconsin, USA.…”

Elemental analysis of natural quartz from Um Higlig, Red Sea Aea, Egypt by instrumental neutron activation analysis

“…The major advantage of NAA are (a) the relative freedom from matrix interferences, (b) high accuracy and (c) very low zero blank contributions. Because nuclear reactions and decay processes are virtually unaffected by chemical and physical structure of the material during and after irradiation, the composition of the matrix has little influence on the induced activityand makes INAA a preferred technique (Brodsky, 1986;Zaghloul, and El-Abbady, 1988;Gordus, 1995;Sena et al, 1995;Descantes et al, 2001;Scheid et al, 2009;El-Taher, 2010b;Potts and Rogers 1991;Duffey et al, (1970); El-Taher et al, (2003);El-Taher et al, (2004); Gurna et al, (1990);Montero Cabrera et al, (2000); Senftle et al, (1971) ;Vereijke, (1992). In spite of the large number of papers devoted to INAA, those dealing with quartz are relatively small in number.…”

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and forensic applications

“…Among these methods is instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), which is a non-destructive analytical method that in many applications requires only small amounts of material. The method has been used in forensics to characterize ammunition (Lukens & Guinn 1971;Desai & Parthasarathy 1983;Sedda & Rossi 2011), to identify gunshot residue (Gislason & Pate 1973) and copper wire (Chan 1972), in the determination of arsenic poisoning using hair samples (Kučera & Kofroňová 2011), to determine the illicit sale of tobacco (Giordani et al 2005), in the forensic analysis comparison of brick stones (Scheid et al 2009) and in many other applications. The following sections will describe the methodology of INAA and possible applications to forensic investigations (both criminal and environmental).…”