Chemical Analysis of Gunpowder and Gunshot Residues

Miguel Serol · Samir M. Ahmad · Alexandre Quintas · Carlos Família

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Abstract

The identification of firearms is of paramount importance for investigating crimes involving firearms, as it establishes the link between a particular firearm and firearm-related elements found at a crime scene, such as projectiles and cartridge cases. This identification relies on the visual comparison of such elements against reference samples from suspect firearms or those existing in databases. Whenever this approach is not possible, the chemical analysis of the gunpowder and gunshot residue can provide additional information that may assist in establishing a link between samples retrieved at a crime scene and those from a suspect or in the identification of the corresponding model and manufacturer of the ammunition used. The most commonly used method for the chemical analysis of gunshot residue is scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray, which focuses on the inorganic elements present in ammunition formulation, particularly heavy metals. However, a change in the legal paradigm is pushing changes in these formulations to remove heavy metals due to their potential for environmental contamination and the health hazards they represent. For this reason, the importance of the analysis of organic compounds is leading to the adoption of a different set of analytical methodologies, mostly based on spectroscopy and chromatography. This manuscript reviews the constitution of primer and gunpowder formulations and the analytical methods currently used for detecting, characterising, and identifying their compounds. In addition, this contribution also explores how the information provided by these methodologies can be used in ammunition identification and how it is driving the development of novel applications within forensic ballistics.

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References

2010Analysis of Gunshot Residue and Associated Materials—A Review 2001Identification of gunshot residue: a critical review 2000Current Methods in Forensic Gunshot Residue Analysis 2008Handbook of Firearms and Ballistics 2017Fate and Behavior of Gunshot Residue—A Review 2007SEM/EDS analysis and characterization of gunshot residues from Brazilian lead-free ammunition 2003Recent developments in methods of chemical analysis in investigations of firearm-related events 2007Development of a Quantitative LC‐MS/MS Method for the Analysis of Common Propellant Powder Stabilizers in Gunshot Residue*

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2024Integrating Chromophoric and Instrumental Methods (SEM-EDS and FTIR) for Accurate Shooting Distance Estimation: An Inter-laboratory Study in Forensic Chemistry

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