Using Gas Chromatography with Ion Mobility Spectrometry to Resolve Explosive Compounds in the Presence of Interferents

• NCJ Number: 232895
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 55 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2010 Pages: 1582-1591
• Author(s): Greg W. Cook, Ph.D.; Peter T. LaPuma, Ph.D.; Gary L. Hook, Ph.D.; Brian A. Eckenrode, Ph.D.
• Date Published: November 2010
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the use of gas chromantography with ion mobility spectrometry.

Abstract

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) is a valued field detection technology because of its speed and high sensitivity, but IMS cannot easily resolve analytes of interest within mixtures. Coupling gas chromatography (GC) to IMS adds a separation capability to resolve complex matrices. A GC-IONSCAN operated in IMS and GC/IMS modes was evaluated with combinations of five explosives and four interferents. In 100 explosive/interferent combinations, IMS yielded 21 false positives while GC/IMS substantially reduced the occurrence of false positives to one. In addition, the results indicate that through redesign or modification of the preconcentrator there would be significant advantages to using GC/IMS, such as enhancement of the linear dynamic range (LDR) in some situations. By balancing sensitivity with LDR, GC/IMS could prove to be a very advantageous tool when addressing real world complex mixture situations. (Published Abstract)