U.S. Coast Guard maritime law enforcement officers use trace detection techniques such as ion mobility spectrometry to find trace quantities of cocaine on surfaces to identify marine vessels suspected of cocaine transportation. This study focused on the rate of chemical and physical degradation of cocaine contaminated surfaces in the marine environment that can lead to forensic non-detects. A variety of surfaces were contaminated with trace amounts of cocaine to study degradation rate and degradation product formation under a variety of temperature, humidity, and UV light exposure conditions simulating marine environments. Ion-mobility spectrometry yielded qualitative results while gas chromatography - mass spectrometry yielded quantitative data about the degradation. Trace amounts of cocaine were found to degrade over time when exposed to the conditions of marine environments.

Cocaine degradation in the marine environment

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.