Determination of triacetone triperoxide (TATP) traces using passive samplers in combination with GC-MS and GC-PCI-MS/MS methods

Abstract

The use of organic peroxides for the preparation of homemade explosives (HMEs) is common among terrorists due to inexpensive precursor chemicals and simple synthetic procedures. Triacetone triperoxide (TATP) is the most notable peroxide explosive, and has been deployed in several terrorist attacks as explosive filling of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Forensic identification of TATP in pre-blast and post-blast residues, including on-site analysis, poses significant analytical challenges and induces demand for practicable and sensitive detection techniques. This work presents a concept suitable for laboratory and on-site identification of TATP residues in liquid samples (aqueous TATP synthetic waste) and in gas phase. It is based on TATP enrichment from the aqueous or gas phase using different types of passive samplers (polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sampling rods and activated carbon sampling tubes (ACST)) and subsequent identification of the explosive by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) or GC with positive chemical ionization and tandem MS (GC-PCI-MS/MS) analytical techniques. Additionally, investigation of the stability of TATP in aqueous solutions and of the stability of enriched TATP in passive samplers under different storage conditions, as well as development of TATP re-extraction procedures from passive samplers have been performed in this study. The practical use of passive samplers was demonstrated during and after TATP production processes. Moreover, post-blast sampling of TATP under different conditions of controlled blasting events was investigated using the passive sampling concept.