Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics: a potential method for the analysis and discrimination of fingermarks contaminated with pharmaceutical tablets Mohamed O. Amin 1 , Entesar Al-Hetlani 1 , Igor K. Lednev 2 1 Department of Chemistry, Kuwait University, Kuwait, 2 Department of Chemistry, University at Albany, USA Recent advancements in analytical techniques have greatly contributed to the chemical analysis of FMs and identification of materials that a suspect might have ingested or come into contact with. This type of information about the FM donor is valuable for criminal investigations because it narrows the pool of suspects and offers information about the individual’s habits. It is estimated that at least 30 million people around the world take over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain relief every day. The present study demonstrates the potential of Raman spectroscopy combined with multivariate statistical analysis as a rapid and nondestructive technique for the detection and identification of drug traces in LFMs when an NSAID tablet has been touched. Specifically, aspirin, ibuprofen, diclofenac, ketoprofen and naproxen tablets purchased from a local drugstore were used to produce NSAID-contaminated FMs. Despite the presence of similar functional groups in these drugs, subtle differences were observed in their Raman spectra. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) showed an excellent separation between natural FMs and all NSAID- contaminated FMs. The developed classification model was externally validated using FMs deposited by a new donor and showed 100% accuracy on a FM level. This proof-of-concept study demonstrated the great potential of Raman spectroscopy in the chemical analysis of LFMs and the detection and identification of drug traces in particular.
IP26
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