GUNSHOT RESIDUE ANALYSIS - A REVIEW

A review of all aspects of analysis associated with gunshot residues i s provided. This includes a summary trf what both inorganic and organi c residues are, how they arise and how they may be collected from a va riety of substrates. Ways of processing samples to the point of analys is and the means by which they may be analyzed using a variety of tech niques is discussed. The techniques described include SEM/EDX, flamele ss atomic absorption spectroscopy, neutron activation analysis, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence and some other less common methods for inorganic residues and gas, high performance liquid and super critical fluid chromatography with speciality detectors including mass spectro metry together with capillary electrophoresis, for organic residues. A summary of how the results of such analyses may be interpreted is dis cussed under the different analytical techniques.