Rapid on-site detection of explosives on surfaces by ambient pressure laser desorption and direct inlet single photon ionization or chemical ionization mass spectrometry

Considering current security issues, powerful tools for detection of security-relevant substances such as traces of explosives and drugs/drug precursors related to clandestine laboratories are required. Especially in the field of detection of explosives and improvised explosive devices, several relevant compounds exhibit a very low vapor pressure. Ambient pressure laser desorption is proposed to make these substances available in the gas phase for the detection by adapted mass spectrometers or in the future with ion-mobility spectrometry as well. In contrast to the state-of-the-art thermal desorption approach, by which the sample surface is probed for explosive traces by a wipe pad being transferred to a thermal desorber unit, by the ambient pressure laser desorption approach presented here, the sample is directly shockwave ablated from the surface. The laser-dispersed molecules are sampled by a heated sniffing capillary located in the vicinity of the ablation spot into the mass analyzer. This approach has the advantage that the target molecules are dispersed more gently than in a thermal desorber unit where the analyte molecules may be decomposed by the thermal intake. In the technical realization, the sampling capillary as well as the laser desorption optics are integrated in the tip of an endoscopic probe or a handheld sampling module. Laboratory as well as field test scenarios were performed, partially in cooperation with the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA, Wiesbaden, Germany), in order to demonstrate the applicability for various explosives, drugs, and drug precursors. In this work, we concentrate on the detection of explosives. A wide range of samples and matrices have been investigated successfully.