NCJ Number
207174
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 49 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2004 Pages: 935-938
Date Published
September 2004
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report describes a method for the improved recovery of triacetonetriperoxide (TATP), a powerful explosive, from vapor phase by solid phase microextraction (SPME), using polydimethylsiloxane/divinyl benzene (PDMS/DVB) fibers and immediate sampling to GC/MS.
Abstract
The typical procedure for detecting TATP after an explosion is adsorption on Amberlite XAD-7, elution with acetonitrile, and analysis by GC/MS. In some major explosions by terrorists in 1996 in Israel, no explosive had been identified. It was later found from other sources that TATP was used on some of the explosive devices, suggesting that the detection procedure for identifying TATP needed to be improved. In the current study, the recovery of TATP by SPME was compared with "headspace" (direct injection of vapor into the GC/MS) and adsorption on Amberlite XAD-7 by spiking onto filter paper put in a 100 ml beaker. For each of the methods used, this report describes materials, procedures, sample preparations, and equipment used. The results indicate that of the three tested methods, SPME, using PDMS/DVB fiber, was the most effective means of recovering TATP. It was about 1,500 times more efficient than headspace and 50 times more efficient than the adsorption on amberlite XAD-7; however, the recovery of TATP in the presence of various solvents -- acetone, water, and mixture of water and alcohols -- was found to reduce the recovery of TATP. Dry swabbing of exhibits from an explosion scene might be the best option. This remains to be investigated. 1 table, 4 figures, and 18 references