Gunshot residue; arson / ignitable liquids; blood alcohol headspace GC; illicit-drug confirmation; toxicology screen; fiber + paint; ink and document dating; explosive residue; DFSA (GHB / ketamine); fentanyl + MDMA; GC-MS confirmation;…
Forensic Chemistry
Gunshot residue (GSR / SEM-EDS)
Pb-Sb-Ba ternary particles 1-5 micron from primer; SEM-EDS Wolten 1979 standard; GSR persistence ~6 hours on hands; ASTM E1588 confirmation…
Arson and ignitable liquids
ASTM E1618 classifies fire-debris ignitable liquid residues into 8 classes (gasoline / petroleum-distillate / iso / aromatic / oxygenate /…
Blood alcohol (headspace GC)
Headspace gas chromatography with FID dual-column; n-propanol internal standard; legal limit 0.08 percent BAC US, 0.05 EU; SOFT-AAFS…
Illicit drug confirmation
SWGDRUG presumptive (color tests Marquis / Mecke / Scott) plus confirmatory GC-MS or LC-MS/MS; Frye / Daubert admissibility; mandatory…
Poison toxicology screen
STA systematic toxicological analysis: blood / urine / vitreous extraction + LC-MS-QTOF or GC-MS untargeted screening; about 2000 toxicants…
Fiber and paint microspectroscopy
FTIR microspectroscopy + Raman + PLM polarizing-light-microscopy + UV-VIS-microspec; ASTM E2227 paint comparison; SWGMAT fiber comparison…
Ink and document dating
GC-MS of phenoxyethanol solvent decay (Aginsky 1996); intersecting-line problem (Conway 1959); ESDA electrostatic-detection of indented…
Explosive residue detection
IMS ion-mobility-spectrometry (TSA airport scanners); LC-MS / GC-ECD for nitro-explosives; SEM-EDS for inorganic IEDs; canine olfaction…
Drug-facilitated sexual assault (GHB / ketamine)
Short half-life GHB 30 min, ketamine 2-3 h, benzodiazepines variable; LC-MS/MS screening with low-pg/mL LOQ; hair analysis extends…
Fentanyl and MDMA confirmation
Fentanyl analogues (carfentanil 10000x morphine) drove 70+ k US OD deaths 2022; LC-MS/MS panel of 30+ analogues; MDMA / amphetamine class…
GC-MS forensic confirmation
Library-match score above 80 percent of NIST/SWGDRUG reference; minimum 3 ions plus retention time +/- 2 percent; mandatory confirmatory…
ASCLD / ISO 17025 quality
ASCLD/LAB and ANAB accreditation programs to ISO/IEC 17025 standard; mandatory proficiency testing, CV-based MU measurement-uncertainty,…
Arson debris ASTM E1618 (extended)
ASTM E1618 standard for ignitable-liquid-residue analysis: GC-MS extracted-ion-chromatograms identify gasoline / diesel / jet-fuel…
Blood spatter pattern analysis
MacDonell 1971 / Bevel-Gardner: classification of bloodstain patterns (passive / projected / impact / transfer); back-calculation to…
Postmortem tox + drug redistribution
Pelissier-Alicot 2003: postmortem-redistribution from solid-organ stores into blood after death distorts toxic-vs-therapeutic distinction;…
Hair shaft drug analysis (segmental)
Sachs 1995 / SOFT-AAFS guidelines: hair grows ~1 cm/month; segmental analysis reveals chronological drug-use pattern over months;…
Fiber spectroscopy (FTIR microscopy)
Grieve 1993 FTIR-microscopy of single textile fibers: identifies polymer + dye class via vibrational spectrum; SWGMAT guidelines specify…
Paint LIBS elemental fingerprint
Anzano 2010 / Cremers 2013 laser-induced-breakdown-spectroscopy: elemental fingerprint of automotive + architectural paint; complements…