Academics from Northumbria have
collaborated on a major research project led by King’s College London, to
develop a new way of detecting homemade explosives which will help forensic
scientists trace where the explosives came from.
The approach uses ion
chromatography – a technique used to separate the different ions composing a
complex ionic mixture, such as a homemade explosive. Published today (May 10)
in Analytica Chimica Acta, scientists show that using this technique,
they can detect a large number of components of homemade explosives down to
very low trace amounts.
Homemade explosives have been
used in crimes, including the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 and the Oslo
attacks in 2011. They are also used in ATM robberies. They have traditionally
been very challenging to detect and trace in samples submitted for forensic
analysis.
Lead author Dr Matteo
Gallidabino, Senior Lecturer in Applied Sciences at Northumbria, said: “The
method we developed is less time consuming and represents a viable solution for
challenging explosives like these. By combining this approach with advanced
data analytics, added intelligence can be retrieved from any evidence
recovered. This has the potential to significantly impact criminal
investigations and further enhance the role of forensics in the administration
of justice.”
The team successfully went on to
use the new approach to interpret the time since explosives materials were
handled by the original maker, analysing sweat. They were also able to analyse
gunshot residue to trace the type of ammunition used.
Dr Leon Barron from King’s
College London said: “The technique is able to tell us so much more than just
the explosives content. It detects thousands of different compounds
simultaneously, which means there is an element of in-built future-proofing
capability to detect new types of explosives if needed or provide critical
information about where a device came from or who it belongs to.”
Click to read the full paper.
