Stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry and physical comparison for the forensic examination of grip-seal plastic bags

Forensic utility of isotope ratio analysis of the explosive urea nitrate and its precursors

“…This approach has been applied in a forensic context to manufactured materials such as matches [7], paint [8], adhesive tapes [9], and plastic bags [10], as well as non-UN explosives [11][12][13][14][15]. Variations in the carbon or nitrogen isotope ratios have been used to show a possible link between starting reagents and the final explosive product molecules, such as RDX [14].…”

Recent Advances in the Application of Stable Isotope Ratio Analysis in Forensic Chemistry

“…The emerging use and functionality of isotope ratio mass spectrometry in forensic analysis now covers a range of evidence types including illicit drugs, explosives and samples of human or animal origins. IRMS has also begun to be used for other forensic science-related exhibits such as plastic bags, [34] paint, [35] matches, [36] and documents, [37] and its influence on the field of forensic chemistry is set to continue into the future. One of the ongoing research questions related to IRMS data is, of course, its evidentiary or investigative value, and the analysis of known provenance samples will continue to be required in order to address this issue.…”

Bringing AMS radiocarbon into the Anthropocene: Potential and drawbacks in the determination of the bio-fraction in industrial emissions and in carbon-based products

“…If we consider that typical ranges for the d 13 C foss term (grey area in Fig. 1) are À32.1 to À27.2‰ for plastic bags [26] or from À24.9 to À22.9‰ for coal and from À28.6 to À26.4 ‰ for liquid fossil fuels [27], we can estimate that the D term could range from À0.4% to 0.9%. The approach we suggest here is thus to use the AMS-measured 13 d AMS;sample term for isotope fractionation correction in Eq.…”