Exploring arson investigations with multi-dimensional chromatography (Gwen O'Sullivan, MDCW 2024)

🎤 Presenter: Gwen O'Sullivan (Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada)

💾 PDF presentation

💡 Book in your calendar: 16th Multidimensional Chromatography Workshop (MDCW) 3 - 5. February 2025

Abstract

The field of fire debris analysis is continually evolving to address challenges associated with identifying new types of ignitable liquids, complex matrices, and the presence of interferences, with more focus in the courtroom on the robustness and admissibility of generated evidence. The identification of ILR, accelerant type, and source in arsonous fires within a laboratory setting is crucial for legal proceedings and convictions. In this presentation, we will illuminate the current regulatory landscape governed by ASTM International standards, while outlining method development strategies to maximize the potential of GC×GC. This includes a focus on critical aspects such as column selection, modulator settings, and parameter optimization. Additionally, we will introduce a robust workflow for GC×GC analysis of ILRs, featuring retention times indices. Our exploration will extend to the potential of GC×GC analysis in detecting cross-contamination, involving a comprehensive investigation of the entire ILR volatility spectrum to fully characterize cross-contamination in a simulated scenario. Furthermore, we will assess packaging materials for their efficacy in sample preservation. The presentation will delve into the challenges associated with managing large and complex chemical data from this type of analysis, and we will introduce a novel chemometric workflow aimed at identifying relevant marker compounds.