Direct analysis in real time (DART) quadrupole time-of-flight was demonstrated for several forensic science applications requiring rapid and sensitive (sub-ng detection) surface analysis of materials, including drugs of abuse. Rapid characterization of 35 new psychoactive substances was achieved by DART-MS with the mass spectra of individual substances acquired and compared to a library database constructed using electrospray ionization on the same instrument and showed the consistent relative abundance for each peak over time.  Seized drug samples (n=4) provided by a local forensic laboratory were analyzed in order to demonstrate the applicability of this approach.  DART-MS was also used to characterize the vehicle components in printing inks and used to associate printing inks that originated from the same ink sources as well as discriminate inks originating from different sources. Finally, an air sampling device was configured fit in the path of the He gas from the DART in order to characterize volatiles that were sampled from both closed and open air systems.<br/>

Forensic applications of direct analysis in real time (DART) coupled to mass spectrometry

255th National Meeting (2018)

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