Spectroscopy for gunshot residue analysis

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10001437-B2
Application number	US-201415026529-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 26, 2014
Priority date	Oct 4, 2013
Publication date	Jun 19, 2018
Grant date	Jun 19, 2018

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of detecting inorganic gunshot residue (GSR) particles. The method includes providing a sample comprising gunshot residue, subjecting the sample to spectroscopic analysis to produce a spectroscopic signature for the sample, and identifying inorganic gunshot residue particles based on the spectroscopic signature for the sample. Also disclosed is a method of detecting gunshot residue particles. The method includes providing a sample comprising gunshot residue, subjecting the sample to spectroscopic analysis to produce a spectroscopic signature for the sample, where the spectroscopic signature spans a range of wavenumbers, creating one or more spectroscopic maps from the spectroscopic signature for the sample, where each different spectroscopic map is for a different wavenumber, and identifying gunshot residue particles based on the one or more spectroscopic maps for the sample.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A method of detecting and distinguishing between inorganic and organic gunshot residue particles, said method comprising:
providing a sample comprising gunshot residue;
subjecting the sample to spectroscopic analysis to produce a spectroscopic signature for the sample;
detecting the presence of inorganic gunshot residue particles based on the spectroscopic signature for the sample, wherein the inorganic gunshot residue particle has a size of 0.2 μm to 10 μm;
detecting the presence of organic gunshot residue particles based on the spectroscopic signature for the sample, wherein the organic gunshot residue particle has a size of 10 μm to 1000 μm; and
distinguishing between inorganic and organic gunshot residue particles based on the spectroscopic signature of the particles.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the spectroscopic analysis is selected from the group consisting of Raman spectroscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, and combinations thereof.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the spectroscopic analysis is vibrational spectroscopy and is selected from the group consisting of Infrared (IR) absorption, Fourier Transform Infrared absorption (FTIR), and Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) FTIR.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the spectroscopic analysis is Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform Infrared absorption (FTIR).

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the spectroscopic analysis is microscopic ATR FTIR.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the spectroscopic analysis is Raman spectroscopy and is selected from the group consisting of NIR Raman spectroscopy and Surface Enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS).

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the spectroscopic signature is a multidimensional vibrational signature.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
determining, from the spectroscopic signature, the type of ammunition and/or the type of weapon used to fire the ammunition, from which the gunshot residue is derived.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein said determining identifies the type of ammunition.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the type of ammunition is selected from the group consisting of 9 mm caliber, .45 caliber, .40 caliber, .22 caliber, and .38 Special.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein said determining identifies the type of weapon used to fire the ammunition.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein said determining comprises:
comparing the spectroscopic signature for the sample to reference spectroscopic signatures for different types of ammunition and/or types of weapons used to fire the ammunition and
characterizing the type of ammunition and/or the type of weapon used to fire the ammunition from the spectroscopic signature of the sample based on said comparing.

13. A method of detecting and distinguishing between inorganic and organic gunshot residue particles, said method comprising:
providing a sample comprising gunshot residue;
subjecting the sample to spectroscopic analysis to produce a spectroscopic signature for the sample, wherein the spectroscopic signature spans a range of wavenumbers;
creating one or more spectroscopic maps from the spectroscopic signature for the sample, wherein each different spectroscopic map is for a different wavenumber; and
detecting the presence of and distinguishing between inorganic and organic gunshot residue particles based on the one or more spectroscopic maps for the sample, wherein the inorganic gunshot residue particle has a size of 0.2 μm to 10 μm, and wherein the organic gunshot residue particle has a size of 10 μm to 1000 μm.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the one or more spectroscopic maps are multidimensional vibrational maps.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein spectroscopic maps are created for specific wavenumbers with the specific wavenumbers being markers for inorganic gunshot residue particles, organic gunshot residue particles, and/or tape substrate.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the wavenumbers serving as a marker for inorganic gunshot residue particle include 1415 cm −1 .

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the wavenumbers serving as a marker for organic gunshot residue particle include 1646 cm −1 .

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the wavenumbers serving as a marker for tape substrate include 1728 cm −1 .

19. The method of claim 13 , wherein the spectroscopic analysis is selected from the group consisting of Raman spectroscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, and combinations thereof.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the spectroscopic analysis is vibrational spectroscopy and is selected from the group consisting of Infrared (IR) absorption, Fourier Transform Infrared absorption (FTIR), and Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) FTIR.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the spectroscopic analysis is Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform Infrared absorption (FTIR).

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the spectroscopic analysis is microscopic ATR FTIR.

23. The method of claim 19 , wherein the spectroscopic analysis is Raman spectroscopy and is selected from the group consisting of NIR Raman spectroscopy and Surface Enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS).

24. The method of claim 13 further comprising:
determining, from the one or more spectroscopic maps, the type of ammunition and/or the type of weapon used to fire the ammunition from which the gunshot residue is derived.

25. The method of claim 24 , wherein said determining identifies the type of ammunition.

26. The method of claim 25 , wherein the type of ammunition is selected from the group consisting of 9 mm caliber, .45 caliber, .40 caliber, .22 caliber, and .38 Special.

27. The method of claim 24 , wherein said determining identifies the type of weapon used to fire the ammunition.

28. The method of claim 24 , wherein said determining comprises:
comparing the one or more spectroscopic maps for the sample to reference spectroscopic maps for different types of ammunition and/or types of weapons used to fire the ammunition and
characterizing the type of ammunition and/or the type of weapon used to fire the ammunition from the one or more spectroscopic maps for the sample based on said comparing.

Assignees

• Univ New York State Res Found

Inventors

• Lednev Igor K

Classifications

• G01N21/658

  enhancement Raman, e.g. surface plasmons · CPC title

• G01N2021/653

  Coherent methods [CARS] · CPC title

• G01N21/3586

  by Terahertz time domain spectroscopy [THz-TDS] · CPC title

• G01N2201/06113

  Coherent sources; lasers · CPC title

• G01N21/552 Primary

  Attenuated total reflection · CPC title