Citation

Hernandes VV, Franco MF, Santos JM, Melendez-Perez JJ, Morais DR, Rocha WF, Borges R, de Souza W, Zacca JJ, Logrado LP, Eberlin MN, Correa DN. Forensic Sci. Int. 2015; 249C: 156-164.

Affiliation

ThoMSon Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas-UNICAMP, 13083-970 Campinas, SP, Brazil; Technical-Scientific Police Superintendency, Criminalistic Institute Dr. Octávio Eduardo de Brito Alvarenga-IC-SPTC-SP, 05507-06 São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: deleon.correa@iqm.unicamp.br.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.01.006

PMID

25700111

Abstract

Ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) is an explosive used in many civil applications. In Brazil, ANFO has unfortunately also been used in criminal attacks, mainly in automated teller machine (ATM) explosions. In this paper, we describe a detailed characterization of the ANFO composition and its two main constituents (diesel and a nitrate explosive) using high resolution and accuracy mass spectrometry performed on an FT-ICR-mass spectrometer with electrospray ionization (ESI(±)-FTMS) in both the positive and negative ion modes. Via ESI(-)-MS, an ion marker for ANFO was characterized. Using a direct and simple ambient desorption/ionization technique, i.e., easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry (EASI-MS), in a simpler, lower accuracy but robust single quadrupole mass spectrometer, the ANFO ion marker was directly detected from the surface of banknotes collected from ATM explosion theft.

Language: en