NCJ Number
219249
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2007 Pages: 842-850
Date Published
July 2007
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This research developed methods for analyzing the organic components of propellant powder residue from gunshots and for assessing their application in chemical ballistics due to the increasing use of lead-free ammunitions or ammunition without "heavy metals."
Abstract
The results confirmed that ethylcentralite (EC) and diphenylamine (DPA) are usually used as stabilizing compounds in propellant powders. DPA was detected in association with its nitrated derivatives, among which N-NO-DPA (N-nitrosodiphenylamine) is the most frequently encountered, followed by 4-nitrodiphenylamine and 2-nitrodiphenylamine. When detected in combination with DPA, the nitrated derivatives could be used as indicators for the presence of organic gunshot residue (GSR); however, this assumption should be supported by complementary investigations, including the study of the persistence of those propellant powder stabilizers on the hands of the shooter and the evaluation of their occurrence on the hands of nonshooting persons. The analyses of samples collected from the hands of a shooter show that the developed method is suitable for routine analyses of GSR, as well as the screening of propellant powders. The findings confirm that the method of liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is an alternative technique for organic GSR analysis following the shooting of 9 mm Para ammunition. A multiple reactions monitoring scanning method was created for the screening of akardite II, EC, DPA, methylcentralite, N-nitrodiphenylamine, 2-nitrodiphenylamine, and 4-nitrodiphenylamine. 4 tables, 6 figures, and 34 references