AVS 62nd International Symposium & Exhibition
    Applied Surface Science Thursday Sessions
       Session AS+SS-ThA

Paper AS+SS-ThA11
A Novel Test Sample for the Spatially Resolved Quantification of Illicit Drugs on Fingerprints using Imaging Mass Spectrometry

Thursday, October 22, 2015, 5:40 pm, Room 212D

Session: Advances in 2D Chemical Mapping and Data Analysis
Presenter: Shin Muramoto, NIST
Authors: S. Muramoto, NIST
T.P. Forbes, NIST
A.C. van Asten, Netherlands Forensic Institute
G. Gillen, NIST
Correspondent: Click to Email
A novel test sample for the spatially resolved quantification of illicit drugs on the surface of a fingerprint using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) was demonstrated. Calibration curves relating the signal intensity to the amount of drug deposited on the surface was generated from inkjet-printed arrays of cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin with a deposited-mass ranging nominally from 10 pg to 50 ng per spot. These curves were used to construct concentration maps that visualized the spatial distribution of the drugs on top of a fingerprint, as well as being able to quantify the amount of drugs in a given area within the map. For the drugs on the fingerprint on silicon, ToF-SIMS showed great success as it was able to generate concentration maps of all three drugs. On the fingerprint on paper, only the concentration map of cocaine could be constructed using ToF-SIMS and DESI-MS as the signals of methamphetamine and heroin were completely suppressed by matrix and substrate effects. Spatially resolved quantification of illicit drugs using imaging mass spectrometry is possible, but the choice of substrates could significantly affect the results.