Detecting organic gunpowder residues from handgun use

William A. MacCrehan; K. Michelle Ricketts; Richard A. Baltzersen; Walter F. Rowe

doi:10.1117/12.334522

4 February 1999 Detecting organic gunpowder residues from handgun use

William A. MacCrehan, K. Michelle Ricketts, Richard A. Baltzersen, Walter F. Rowe

Proceedings Volume 3576, Investigation and Forensic Science Technologies; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.334522
Event: Enabling Technologies for Law Enforcement and Security, 1998, Boston, MA, United States

Abstract

The gunpowder residues that remain after the use of handguns or improvised explosive devices pose a challenge for the forensic investigator. Can these residues be reliably linked to a specific gunpowder or ammunition? We investigated the possibility by recovering and measuring the composition of organic additives in smokeless powder and its post-firing residues. By determining gunpowder additives such as nitroglycerin, dinitrotoluene, ethyl- and methylcentralite, and diphenylamine, we hope to identify the type of gunpowder in the residues and perhaps to provide evidence of a match to a sample of unfired powder. The gunpowder additives were extracted using an automated technique, pressurized fluid extraction (PFE). The conditions for the quantitative extraction of the additives using neat and solvent-modified supercritical carbon dioxide were investigated. All of the major gunpowder additives can be determined with baseline resolution using capillary electrophoresis (CE) with a micellar agent and UV absorbance detection. A study of candidate internal standards for use in the CE method is also presented. The PFE/CE technique is used to evaluate a new residue sampling protocol--asking shooters to blow their noses. In addition, an initial investigation of the compositional differences among unfired and post-fired .22 handgun residues is presented.

Citation Download Citation

William A. MacCrehan, K. Michelle Ricketts, Richard A. Baltzersen, and Walter F. Rowe "Detecting organic gunpowder residues from handgun use", Proc. SPIE 3576, Investigation and Forensic Science Technologies, (4 February 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.334522

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