nano forensic

In this work, we present a compact LIBS sensor developed for characterization of samples on a crime scene following requirements of law enforcement agencies involved in the project. The sensor operates both in a tabletop mode, for aside measurements of swabbed materials or taken fragments, and in handheld mode where the sensor head is pointed directly on targets at the scene. The sensor head is connected via an umbilical to an instrument box that could be battery-powered and contains also a color camera for sample visualization, illumination LEDs, and pointing system for placing the target in focus...

In this study, a new type of covalent organic framework (TpBD) functionalized bivalved magnetic microsphere (TpBD-DS MNS) adsorbent was applied for the enrichment and detection of trace morphine and its metabolites in mouse urine. The main factors affecting the efficiency of magnetic solid phase extraction were optimized, and the optimal MSPE conditions were obtained. Combined with the UPLC-MS/MS technique, a new method for determining trace morphine and its metabolites in urine was established. The detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) limits for morphine and its metabolites ranged from 0...

Molecular diagnostics (MD) is widely employed in multiple scientific disciplines, such as oncology, pathogen detection, forensic investigations, and the pharmaceutical industry. Techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) revolutionized the rapid and accurate identification of nucleic acids (DNA, RNA). More recently, CRISPR and its CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) have been a ground-breaking discovery that is the latest revolution in molecular biology, including MD. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a very attractive alternative to fluorescence as the currently most widely used optical readout in MD...

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is a personalized care tool based on the determination of a target drug concentration in human serum. An antidepressant drug of interest for such investigations is fluoxetine (FXT), due to a severe impact of genetic polymorphisms on its metabolism. A bioanalytical method employed for TDM purposes must exhibit satisfactory selectivity and detectability, which becomes more difficult due to highly complex biological matrices. In this study, a highly selective bioanalytical method for the determination of FXT in human serum is proposed, which provides excellent clean-up efficiency based on a low cost hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) sample preparation step and nano-liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (nano-LC-HRMS)...

Amphetamines, as psychoactive drugs, are extensively abused in society and cause serious mental and physical disorders among young people. Furthermore, the extremely euphoric and excited sense of stimulant consumption leads to dramatic social problems. Determination of various analytes and related metabolites in the complex biological matrices at trace levels has made sample preparation an indispensable part of forensic sciences. According to the problems above, providing high sensitivity, solving some analytical problems like matrix effects in LCMS-MS, and needing a cleaner extract are remarkable aspects of novel sample preparation methods in drug analysis...

The enzyme α-amylase has long been a commonly targeted protein in serological tests for saliva. While being especially abundant in saliva, α-amylase is detectable in vaginal secretions, sweat, fecal matter, breast milk and other matrices. As a result, assays for α-amylase only provide a presumptive indication of saliva. The availability of mass spectrometry-based tools for the detection of less abundant, but more specific, protein targets (e.g., human statherin) has enabled the development of high confidence assays for human saliva...

Mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics has recently attracted the attention from forensic pathologists. This work is the first report of the development of a shotgun bottom-up proteomic approach based on rapid protein extraction and nano-liquid chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry applied to full-thickness human skin for the differential analysis of normal and ecchymotic tissues to identify new biomarkers for bruise characterization and dating. We identified around 2000 proteins from each pooled extract...

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a label-free, non-destructive technique for rapid identification of molecules with the interest of public safety and forensics. In the current work, we present a detailed protocol for designing a SERS-active substrate comprising Au-nanoparticles-decorated Ag nano-dendrites for the trace detection of explosives, biomolecules, dye, and pesticides. We elaborate the procedure for studying near-field enhancements in plasmonic structures. This protocol also addresses some of the challenges faced in SERS experiments and the potential solutions to overcome them...

Snake venom is a complex mixture secreted from the glands of poisonous snakes， which contains proteins， peptides， lipids， nucleosides， sugars， amino acids， amines， metal ions， and other components. According to the toxicological classification， snake venoms can be classified as neurotoxins， anticoagulants and procoagulant toxins， cardiac toxins， other toxin proteins， and enzymes. Proteins and peptides are the key components of snake venom...

Nanotechnology is a powerful tool and fast-growing research area in many novel arenas, ranging from biomedicine to engineering and energy storage. Nanotechnology has great potential to make a significant positive contribution in forensic science, which deals with the identification and investigation of crimes, finding relationships between pieces of evidence and perpetrators. Nano-forensics is related to the development of nanosensors for crime investigations and inspection of terrorist activity by analyzing the presence of illicit drugs, explosives, toxic gases, biological agents, and so forth...

Rapid and flexible detection or accurate recognition of trace drugs is of great importance in cracking down on drug crimes, but it remains to be expected. Here, a solid chip is presented for the efficient detection and recognition of trace opioids (typically morphine) in aqueous solutions based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Firstly, a Au-coated Si nano-cone array (Au-SNCA) is designed and fabricated via Si-based organic colloidal template etching and Au deposition. This Au-SNCA shows three-dimensional nanostructure with high densities of nanotips and deep nanogaps as well as high structural consistency, which exhibits strong SERS activity to morphine and outstanding stability...

In recent years, identification and analysis of designer benzodiazepines have become a challenge in forensic toxicology. These substances are analogues of the classic benzodiazepines, but their pharmacology is not well known, and many of them have been associated with overdoses and deaths. As a result, there has been a surge in efforts to develop analytical methods to determine these compounds in different biological samples. Our aim was to develop and validate a fast, sensitive, and specific method for determining 17 designer benzodiazepines (adinazolam, clobazam, clonazolam, delorazepam, deschloroetizolam, diclazepam, etizolam, flualprazolam, flubromazepam, flubromazolam, flunitrazolam, N-desmethylclobazam, nifoxipam, nitrazolam, meclonazepam, pyrazolam and zolazepam) in hair by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS)...

An increasing number of studies on massively parallel sequencing of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been reporting identification of various types of noise or off-target sequences. Herein, we report that an off-target haplotype (sequence length 192 bp) observed in MiSeq data of mtDNA at nucleotide position 16,209-16,400 was likely caused by polymorphic nuclear mitochondrial DNA sequences (NumtS). Buccal DNA samples from Volunteers #001-004 and Control DNA 007 were amplified with our multiplex system of the B (15,998-16,172), C (16,209-16,400), and E (30-289) regions using 2000 copies of mtDNA...

A rapid and sensitive method based on PRiME (process, robustness, improvements, matrix effects, ease of use) pass-through cleanup procedure and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) for the simultaneous determination of 12 illicit drugs in human plasma was developed and validated. The clover-shaped nano-titania functionalized covalent organic frameworks (CSTF-COFs) has been evaluated in the PRiME pass-through cleanup procedure to remove blood phospholipids from plasma samples...

U, Sr, Pb, Nd, and Hf isotope ratios can provide basic and important information of nuclear materials. We established a simple and efficient column chemistry method using nano-NaBiO3, as both oxidizer and adsorbent, to completely separate Ce from rare earth elements (REEs). This new method exhibited a high decontamination (Ce/Nd < 10-5 ) ability and was easy to conducted, thereby providing clear advantages compared to traditional liquid-liquid and solid phase micro-extraction techniques. Additionally, a rapid four-column separation procedure, based on Sr, TUR, Ln resins and nano-NaBiO3 , was developed to isolate U, Sr, Pb, Nd, and Hf in ore samples...

Recently, the application of novel nanomaterials, especially magnetic nanomaterials in the development of latent fingerprints (LFP), has become the hot focus for forensic scientists and criminal investigators. As a type of recyclable, environment-friendly material, Fe3 O4 nanoparticles achieve a wonderful effect in visualization of LFP. We first report the synthesis and encapsulation of nano-Fe3 O4 through "facile coprecipitation", (3-mercaptopropyl)triethoxysilane was covalently embedded into Fe3 O4 nanoparticles, and the Fe3 O4 core was encapsulated by the nanosilver to prepare novel magnetic nanomaterials (P-MNP@Ag) with the core-shell configuration...

Sensors are ubiquitous in modern society because of their wide applications in healthcare, security, forensic industries as well as environmental protection. Specifically, sensors which can be microfabricated employing very-large-scale-integration (VLSI) compatible microfabrication techniques are particularly desirable. This is because they can provide several advantages: small size, low cost, and possibility of mass fabrication. 2D materials are a promising building block for such sensors. Their atomically thin nature, flat surfaces and ability to form van der Waals hetero junctions opens up the pathway for versatile functionalities...

Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) plays a critical role in personalized medicine, forensics, pharmacogenetics, and disease diagnostics. Among different existing SNP genotyping techniques, melting curve analysis (MCA) becomes increasingly popular due to its high accuracy and straightforward procedures in extracting the melting temperature ( T m ). Yet, its study on existing digital microfluidic (DMF) platforms has intrinsic limitations due to the temperature inhomogeneity within a thickened droplet during the on-chip rapid heating process...

The use of micro, capillary and nano- LC systems for forensic analysis has excellent potential. In a field where sample size is often limited, several studies have presented the viability of capillary columns with microflow and nanoflow, and when using mass spectrometric analysis limits of detection can be improved. Reduction in flow rates result in significant reduction in operating costs. Recent advances in miniaturized LC systems also aim at in-laboratory and on-site detection, which have already been applied to forensic drug cases...

Chiral nanophotonic materials are promising candidates for biosensing applications because they focus light into nanometer dimensions, increasing their sensitivity to the molecular signatures of their surroundings. Recent advances in nanomaterial-enhanced chirality sensing provide detection limits as low as attomolar concentrations (10-18 M) for biomolecules and are relevant to the pharmaceutical industry, forensic drug testing, and medical applications that require high sensitivity. Here, we review the development of chiral nanomaterials and their application for detecting biomolecules, supramolecular structures, and other environmental stimuli...