Trace isotope analysis of Ricinus communis seed core for provenance determination by laser ablation-ICP-MS.

The castor bean plant, Ricinus communis, grows wild throughout many regions of Australia. The seeds of the plant contain the schedule 1 chemical agent ricin, a type II ribosomal inhibiting protein. Currently there are limited analytical techniques that can be applied in analysis of the seeds to establish attribution.

The potential of using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma time of flight mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-TOF-MS) in the forensic analysis of micro debris.

The majority of crimes result in the generation of some form of physical evidence, which is available for collection by crime scene investigators or police. However, this debris is often limited in amount as modern criminals become more aware of its potential value to forensic scientists. The requirement to obtain robust evidence from increasingly smaller sized samples has required refinement and modification of old analytical techniques and the development of new ones.