High resolution applications of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for environmental and forensic applications

Madhavi Z. Martin; Nicole Labbé; Nicolas André; Ronny Harris; Michael Ebinger; Stan D. Wullschleger; Arpad A. Vass

doi:10.1016/j.sab.2007.10.046

High resolution applications of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for environmental and forensic applications

Madhavi Z. Martin
, Nicole Labbé
, Nicolas André
, Ronny Harris
, Michael Ebinger
, Stan D. Wullschleger
, Arpad A. Vass

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

109 Scopus citations

Abstract

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been used in the elemental analysis for a variety of environmental samples and as a proof of concept for a host of forensic applications. In the first application, LIBS was used for the rapid detection of carbon from a number of different soil types. In this application, a major breakthrough was achieved by using a multivariate analytical approach that has brought us closer towards a "universal calibration curve". In a second application, it has been demonstrated that LIBS in combination with multivariate analysis can be employed to analyze the chemical composition of annual tree growth rings and correlate them to external parameters such as changes in climate, forest fires, and disturbances involving human activity. The objectives of using this technology in fire scar determinations are: 1) To determine the characteristic spectra of wood exposed to forest fires and 2) To examine the viability of this technique for detecting fire occurrences in stems that did not develop fire scars. These examples demonstrate that LIBS-based techniques are inherently well suited for diverse environmental applications. LIBS was also applied to a variety of proof of concept forensic applications such as the analysis of cremains (human cremation remains) and elemental composition analysis of prosthetic implants.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1426-1432
Number of pages	7
Journal	Spectrochimica Acta - Part B Atomic Spectroscopy
Volume	62
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sab.2007.10.046
State	Published - Dec 2007

Funding

We would like to extend our thanks to Deanne Brice who helped with the LIBS measurements and made sure that the wood pellets were sampled in a reproducible and repeatable manner. She was also diligent in helping with the consistent preparation of forensic samples. This research has been sponsored by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by University of Tennessee-Battelle, LLC for the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) under contract number DE-AC05-00OR22725. The soil LIBS research was supported by DOE-Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration program.

Keywords

Forensic science
Human and animal bone chemical analysis
Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy
Multivariate analysis
Soil carbon measurements

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title = "High resolution applications of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for environmental and forensic applications",

abstract = "Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been used in the elemental analysis for a variety of environmental samples and as a proof of concept for a host of forensic applications. In the first application, LIBS was used for the rapid detection of carbon from a number of different soil types. In this application, a major breakthrough was achieved by using a multivariate analytical approach that has brought us closer towards a {"}universal calibration curve{"}. In a second application, it has been demonstrated that LIBS in combination with multivariate analysis can be employed to analyze the chemical composition of annual tree growth rings and correlate them to external parameters such as changes in climate, forest fires, and disturbances involving human activity. The objectives of using this technology in fire scar determinations are: 1) To determine the characteristic spectra of wood exposed to forest fires and 2) To examine the viability of this technique for detecting fire occurrences in stems that did not develop fire scars. These examples demonstrate that LIBS-based techniques are inherently well suited for diverse environmental applications. LIBS was also applied to a variety of proof of concept forensic applications such as the analysis of cremains (human cremation remains) and elemental composition analysis of prosthetic implants.",

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AU - André, Nicolas

AU - Harris, Ronny

AU - Ebinger, Michael

AU - Wullschleger, Stan D.

AU - Vass, Arpad A.

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N2 - Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been used in the elemental analysis for a variety of environmental samples and as a proof of concept for a host of forensic applications. In the first application, LIBS was used for the rapid detection of carbon from a number of different soil types. In this application, a major breakthrough was achieved by using a multivariate analytical approach that has brought us closer towards a "universal calibration curve". In a second application, it has been demonstrated that LIBS in combination with multivariate analysis can be employed to analyze the chemical composition of annual tree growth rings and correlate them to external parameters such as changes in climate, forest fires, and disturbances involving human activity. The objectives of using this technology in fire scar determinations are: 1) To determine the characteristic spectra of wood exposed to forest fires and 2) To examine the viability of this technique for detecting fire occurrences in stems that did not develop fire scars. These examples demonstrate that LIBS-based techniques are inherently well suited for diverse environmental applications. LIBS was also applied to a variety of proof of concept forensic applications such as the analysis of cremains (human cremation remains) and elemental composition analysis of prosthetic implants.

AB - Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been used in the elemental analysis for a variety of environmental samples and as a proof of concept for a host of forensic applications. In the first application, LIBS was used for the rapid detection of carbon from a number of different soil types. In this application, a major breakthrough was achieved by using a multivariate analytical approach that has brought us closer towards a "universal calibration curve". In a second application, it has been demonstrated that LIBS in combination with multivariate analysis can be employed to analyze the chemical composition of annual tree growth rings and correlate them to external parameters such as changes in climate, forest fires, and disturbances involving human activity. The objectives of using this technology in fire scar determinations are: 1) To determine the characteristic spectra of wood exposed to forest fires and 2) To examine the viability of this technique for detecting fire occurrences in stems that did not develop fire scars. These examples demonstrate that LIBS-based techniques are inherently well suited for diverse environmental applications. LIBS was also applied to a variety of proof of concept forensic applications such as the analysis of cremains (human cremation remains) and elemental composition analysis of prosthetic implants.

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High resolution applications of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for environmental and forensic applications

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