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Ballpoint Pen Inks: The Quantitative Analysis of Ink Solvents on Paper by Solid‐Phase Microextraction
Author(s) -
Brazeau Luc,
Gaudreau Marc
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2006.00299.x
Subject(s) - solid phase microextraction , inkwell , chromatography , mass spectrometry , analyte , gas chromatography–mass spectrometry , gas chromatography , materials science , adsorption , fiber , analytical chemistry (journal) , chemistry , organic chemistry , composite material
ABSTRACT: We wish to describe further developments to a method previously reported on the detection of 2‐phenoxyethanol in ink. The solid‐phase microextraction (SPME) sampling technique, together with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS), has been used to quantify solvents in writing ink. In conventional approaches, the analysis of ink on documents requires some degree of destructive sampling. The methods commonly used remove ink samples from paper using a scalpel or a paper punch. To avoid document destruction, a sampling cell was constructed that allows solvents to be adsorbed directly onto the SPME fiber from the headspace above the document surface. Analytes (ink volatiles) are then desorbed from the SPME fiber on a gas chromatograph equipped with a mass selective detector (GC‐MSD). With this method, it was possible to detect the presence of ink solvents on documents for a period lasting up to c . 2 years.