A team in the US has developed a detection system that crime scene investigators can wear on their fingertips to rapidly identify suspected traces of explosives and gunshot residue.
With the increase in crimes related to explosives and firearms, fast and accurate detection of possible traces of explosives and gunshot residue is of considerable importance. Forensic analysis is typically carried out in a central laboratory, requiring time-consuming sampling, transportation and storage. Joseph Wang and colleagues at the University California, San Diego, have built on their expertise with wearable sensors to move forensic analysis away from the lab and to the crime scene.
Their new sensor is made up of two components: an electrode screen-printed onto a stretchable sheath worn on the index finger and a second sheath, worn on the thumb, coated with a solid-state ionogel electrolyte. ‘Initially we intended to use a hydrogel, but the lifetime of this media was finite due to evaporation of water,’ says Wang. The ionogel circumvents the need for carrying additional liquid reagents, making the device highly portable.
To read the full article please visit Chemistry World.
Solid-state Forensic Finger sensor for integrated sampling and detection of gunshot residue and explosives: towards ‘Lab-on-a-finger’
Amay J. Bandodkar, Aoife M. O’Mahony, Julian Ramírez, Izabela A. Samek, Sean M. Anderson, Joshua R. Windmiller and Joseph Wang Analyst, 2013, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3AN01179H
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