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                            Funding & Awards
 Fast Screening of Firearm Discharge Residues by Laser-based Spectrochemical Methods, Electrochemical Sensors, and Chemometrics
Award Information
Awardee
              WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CORPORATION
Award #
              2018-DU-BX-0186
Funding Category
              Competitive Discretionary
Location
                    MORGANTOWN, WV
Congressional District
              1
Status
              Closed
Funding First Awarded
              2018
Total funding (to date)
              $379,394
Original Solicitation
              NIJ FY18 Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2018, $379,394)
The detection of firearm discharge residues (FDR) provides valuable information in cases involving homicides, suicides, accidental shootings, and terrorism. Despite the scientific validity of this discipline, there are persisting challenges regarding the speed of analysis, preservation of the evidence, and interpretation of results. Consequently, there is a critical need to develop methods that can improve the response time and reliability of these determinations.
Our overall purpose is to develop a comprehensive approach to overcome these significant concerns and to enhance current capabilities in the criminal justice system. This project aims to develop and validate fast tests-LIBS and electrochemical sensors-for FDR detection and statistical models for the quantitative interpretation of the evidence.
Our central hypothesis is that electrochemistry and LIBS will provide screening methods that are quicker, more selective, and more informative than current assays. A notable advantage of these methods is the capability to conduct laboratory-based analysis and field detection of both inorganic and organic components. Also, LIBS can identify a more substantial number of elements used in modern ammunition and generate 3D-chemical images of the spatial distribution of FDR for more objective estimations of shooting distance, identification of bullet holes and scanning of large areas. These assays are expected to offer a cost-effective strategy to complement traditional SEM-EDS methods and color tests that are widely utilized in forensic laboratories. Time of analysis is substantially reduced from hours/days to just a few minutes, and therefore these methods are anticipated to offer a streamlined process and lower error rates associated with contamination and persistence.
The proposed methodologies will be validated through a set of 552 samples and 100 in-house GSR control standards. The first collection consists of 375 samples.
This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law, and complies with Part 200 Uniform Requirements - 2 CFR  200.210(a)(14).
CA/NCF



  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      Fast Screening of Gunshot Residue Aims to Modernize Practice
                  Prevalence and probabilistic assessment of organic and inorganic gunshot residue and background profiles using LIBS, electrochemistry, and SEM-EDS
                  Chemical Analysis of Firearm Discharge Residues Using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
                  Fast identification of inorganic and organic gunshot residues by LIBS and electrochemical methods
                  Infrared Imaging as a Complementary Aid in Estimating Muzzle-to-Target Shooting Distance: An Application on Dark, Patterned and Bloody Sample
                  Evaluation of organic and inorganic gunshot residues in various populations using LC-MS/MS
                  Analysis of Forensically Relevant Evidence Using Electrochemistry, Spectroscopy, and Mass Spectrometry Tools
                  Electrochemical and mass spectrometry methods for identification of gunshot residues (GSR) in forensic investigations
                  Fast Screening of Firearm Discharge Residues by Laser-Based Spectrochemical Methods, Electrochemical Sensors, and Chemometrics
                  Analysis of primer gunshot residue particles by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry
                  Development of tailor-made inorganic gunshot residue (IGSR) microparticle standards and characterization with a multi-technique approach
                  Evaluation of the Simultaneous Analysis of Organic and Inorganic Gunshot Residues Within a Large Population Data Set Using Electrochemical Sensors
                  Trends in composition, collection, persistence, and analysis of IGSR and OGSR: A review
                  Assessing the utility of LIBS in the reconstruction of firearm related incidents
                  Novel LIBS Method for Micro-Spatial Chemical Analysis of Inorganic Gunshot Residues
                  Spectrochemical mapping using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy as a more objective approach to shooting distance determination

  
Date Created: September 27, 2018
    
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