NCJ Number
221663
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 52 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2007 Pages: 1272-1283
Date Published
November 2007
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examined the fate of four toxic chemical warfare agents--sulfur mustard, sodium 2-fluoracetate, sarin, and diazinon--in a lysis buffer used in Promega DNA IQ extraction, in order to determine whether extraction would render the samples safe.
Abstract
Agent levels in the elution buffer were found to be below the detectable limits for mustard, sarin, sodium 2-fluoroacetate or low (less than 0.02 mg/ml) for diazinon; therefore, once extracted, these DNA samples could be safely processed in a forensic laboratory. The authors note, however, that these analyses were not conducted with real DNA samples, but rather with neat buffer. Different chemical-warfare-agent behavior may occur in a real-world situation. It is known that salt content (ionic strength) and pH influence chemical agent degradation. As chemical containment would be required for the processing of samples contaminated at levels of 10 mg/ml of sarin, diazinon, or sodium 2-fluoroacetate, processing of samples similarly contaminated with sulfur mustard would be best also done in chemical containment in order to maintain a consistent protocol. Two independent analytical methods were used per agent, selected from GC-MS, H NMR, F NMR, P NMR, or LC-ES MS. The methods were validated before use. Determinations were performed in a semi-quantitative way by direct comparison to standards. Materials and methods are described in detail. 8 tables, 10 figures, and 15 references