May 2017 Meeting

Speaker: Theresa Evans-Nguyen, University of South Florida

Topic: Differential Mobility Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry for Inorganic and Organic Analyses in Radio-nuclear Forensics

Date: Monday, May 15, 2017

Time: 6:15 pm Dinner, 7:15 pm: Presentation

Location: Shimadzu Scientific Instrument, Inc. Training Center 7100 Riverwood Drive, Columbia, MD 21046 (Directions)

Dinner: Please RSVP to Katherine Fiedler (Katherine.L.Fiedler@fda.hhs.gov) before April 17 if you will be attending the dinner or are a presenting as a vendor.

Abstract: In the field of radio-nuclear forensics, analyses of a hypothetical post-detonation environment is currently limited to tedious methods performed on laboratory-scale instrumentation. However, on-site screening of potential evidence is attractive to accelerate attribution in the forensics timeline. Identification of both radionuclide agents and dispersants among environmental matrices may be envisioned using fieldable mass spectrometry. Toward this goal, we have studied emerging technologies to circumvent complex laboratory-based inorganic analyses. As a means toward rapid sample clean-up, we implemented differential mobility spectrometry (DMS) in place of chromatography prior to mass spectrometry. We have incorporated a DMS filter scheme for the separation of transition metals and recently, small organic molecules. Experimentally, DMS separation is intimately tied to the ionization method and differences in nanoelectrospray ionization and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization methods can greatly impact the performance of DMS. We shall present results from our continuing characterization of ambient ionization methods with DMS for forensic applications.