Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2005, $261,258)
The proposed project will research various instrumental techniques that can be used to characterize pigmented inks, tiny particles of colorant suspended in a vehicle (solvent plus additives), to aid document examiners in forensic investigations. The techniques will include pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, matrix assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry, thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry. The applicant will also explore how these techniques, alone or in combination, can be used to follow the aging of the inks and/or pigments. A collection of 150-200 pigmented ink samples, both on paper and in raw form, will be provided by the US Secret Service Laboratory for use in this project. A website will be developed that will make all of the data collected in this project accessible to the forensic science
ca/ncf
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