A quantitative assessment of chemical techniques for detecting traces of explosives at counter-terrorist portals.

Previous reviews have discussed in a qualitative manner the various highly sensitive analytical techniques for detecting minute traces of explosive material. However, there is no review available which compares quantitatively the sensitivities of the different analytical methods for detecting explosives. In view of the importance of this area to the present day planning of counter-terrorist strategies, this review makes a comprehensive and quantitative comparison of the analytical chemical methods which can be used for the detection of trace explosives in the luggage and on the persons of travelers.

Some comments on the paper by Edward S. Fry on the visible and near-ultraviolet absorption spectrum of liquid water.

It is contended that the most comprehensive collection of data on the visible and near-ultraviolet spectrum of pure liquid water can still be found [Appl. Opt. 38, 1216 (1999)].

Visible and near-ultraviolet absorption spectrum of liquid water.

The optical absorption of pure liquid water in the 300-700-nm region has been measured by use of a long (1.5-m) path-length cell. The absorption spectrum coincides well with the edge of previous data in the 200-320-nm region and provides reliable data in the 320-420-nm region that has until now been a region of considerable unreliability.

Infrared identification of matrix isolated H2O.O2.

Theoretical studies of the H2O.O2 complex have been carried out over the past decade, but the complex has not previously been experimentally identified. We have assigned IR vibrations from an H2O.

A comparison of the presumptive luminol test for blood with four non-chemiluminescent forensic techniques.

Presumptive blood detection tests are used by forensic investigators to detect trace amounts of blood or to investigate suspicious stains. Through the years, a number of articles have been published on the popular techniques of the day. However, there is no single paper that critiques and compares the five most common presumptive blood detection tests currently in use: luminol, phenolphthalein (Kastle-Meyer), leucomalachite green, Hemastix and the forensic light source.

Production of oxygen by electronically induced dissociations in ice.

A solid-state chemical model is given for the production of O2 by electronic excitation of ice, a process that occurs on icy bodies in the outer solar system. Based on a review of the relevant available laboratory data, we propose that a trapped oxygen atom-water complex is the principal precursor for the formation of molecular oxygen in low-temperature ice at low fluences. Oxygen formation then occurs through direct excitation of this complex or by its reaction with a freshly produced, nonthermal O from an another excitation event.

Attempted cleaning of bloodstains and its effect on the forensic luminol test.

The forensic luminol test has long been valued for its ability to detect trace amounts of blood that are invisible to the naked eye. This is the first quantitative study to determine the effect on the luminol test when an attempt is made to clean bloodstained tiles with a known interfering catalyst (bleach). Tiles covered with either wet or dry blood were tested, and either water or sodium hypochlorite solution (bleach) was used to clean the tiles.

The forensic use of luminol chemiluminescence to detect traces of blood inside motor vehicles.

The luminol test for blood was carried out on a set of interior fittings and surfaces inside three different makes of modern motor car. The surfaces and fittings provided little interference with the test for blood, although there was some detectable chemiluminescence when the test was applied to blood-free material from a seatbelt, a boot-lining and a gear-knob. The case with which haemoglobin samples could be washed off interior car surfaces was also examined for seat fabrics, carpets, roof-linings and various other plastic interior surfaces.

The production of oxidants in Europa's surface.

The oxidants produced by radiolysis and photolysis in the icy surface of Europa may be necessary to sustain carbon-based biochemistry in Europa's putative subsurface ocean. Because the subduction of oxidants to the ocean presents considerable thermodynamic challenges, we examine the formation of oxygen and related species in Europa's surface ice with the goal of characterizing the chemical state of the irradiated material. Relevant spectral observations of Europa and the laboratory data on the production of oxygen and related species are first summarized.

A comprehensive experimental study of industrial, domestic and environmental interferences with the forensic luminol test for blood.

This paper presents the fi rst comprehensive and quantitative study of substances that interfere with the forensic luminol test for blood. Two hundred and fifty substances have been selected on the basis of modern lifestyles and of contiguity with crime scenes. The intensity of the chemiluminescence produced by each substance has been measured relative to that of haemoglobin and the peak wavelength shift has also been determined.

Infrared measurements and calculations on H2O.HO.

We have measured the infrared spectrum of H2O.HO in argon matrices at 11.5 +/- 0.

A study of common interferences with the forensic luminol test for blood.

A wide range of domestic and industrial substances that might be mistaken for haemoglobin in the forensic luminol test for blood were examined. The substances studied were in the categories of vegetable or fruit pulps and juices; domestic and commercial oils; cleaning agents; an insecticide; and various glues, paints and varnishes. A significant number of substances in each category gave luminescence intensities that were comparable with the intensities of undiluted haemoglobin, when sprayed with the standard forensic solution containing aqueous alkaline luminol and sodium perborate.

Increasing the specificity of the forensic luminol test for blood.

It is shown that the presumptive luminol chemiluminescence test for the presence of traces of blood can be made more determinative by measuring the peak emission wavelength of the luminol chemiluminescence. When sprayed onto a surface containing traces of human haemoglobin, a 1 g/L solution of aqueous luminol containing 7 g/L sodium perborate gives an emission peak at 455 +/- 2 nm, whereas the same mixture gives an emission peak at 430 +/- 3 nm when sprayed onto a surface containing traces of sodium hypochlorite (household bleach). This spectral difference can readily be determined using spectroscopic equipment that either scans the spectrum before significant luminescence decay occurs or corrects the spectrum for the effects of any decay.

Luminescent photoproducts in UV-irradiated ice.

This Account describes the near-UV and visible luminescences emitted from crystalline, polycrystalline, and amorphous ices as a result of excitation by UV light. Vibrationally resolved, short-lived luminescence around 340 nm arises from excited O(2) formed by the reaction of two O atoms. Long-lived luminescence around 420 nm is tentatively assigned to a spin-forbidden (4)sigma(-) --> X(2)Pi transition of OH.

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence from violanthrone.

Violanthrone, an emitter of exceptionally bright chemiluminescence, was examined in dimethylformamide solution to determine whether it also emits particularly bright electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL). The ECL measurements were carried out using a cycled potential which was applied to platinum electrodes. At the maximum sweep rate of 80 V s-1 available, the intensity of the violanthrone ECL was still increasing with sweep rate and was c.

Does low-intensity He-Ne laser radiation produce a photobiological growth response in Escherichia coli?

A photobiological study was carried out on the bacterium Escherichia coli in order to determine whether stimulation of growth occurred after irradiation of an inoculum with coherent red light. No enhancement or inhibition of growth was observed for cultures of the bacterium following irradiation of inocula with a Helium-neon laser (continuous wave, lambda = 632.8 nm) at irradiances of 7.

Attempted biostimulation of division in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using red coherent light.

Replicate cultures of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were irradiated with 632.8 nm coherent light from He-Ne lasers at irradiances of 6.5 x 10(15) and 1.

Luminescence from the yeast Candida utilis and comparisons across three genera.

Weak luminescence was detected from oxygenated liquid cultures of the yeast Candida utilis during two stages of its growth cycle. The first period of emission occurred during the exponential phase of growth and comprised an ultraviolet band (270-390 nm; ca 19 photons s-1 cm-2 of culture surface) and a visible band (450-620 nm; ca 68 photons s-1 cm-2). The second period of emission occurred late in the stationary phase of growth and was comprised almost entirely of a visible region band (450-620 nm; 6.

Luminescence spectra of exponential and stationary phase cultures of respiratory deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The spectral distributions of the luminescences emitted by the respiratory-deficient mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the normal yeast have been determined during the exponential phase of growth and during the stationary phase. The respiratory-deficient mutant gave a more intense emission in the visible region than did the normal yeast, but the UV intensities from the two yeasts did not differ greatly. These differences were explained in terms of higher O2- concentrations in the respiratory-deficient mutant which lead to enhanced visible region chemiluminescence from lipid peroxidation reactions.

An attempt to stimulate cell division in Saccharomyces cerevisiae with weak ultraviolet light.

Liquid cultures of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were irradiated with weak light having irradiances ranging from ca. 1 X 10(2) to 5 X 10(9) photons cm-2 s-1 and at wavelengths ranging from 200 to 700 nm. When particular care was taken to control the temperature of the cultures and the flow rate of oxygen, no evidence was obtained for stimulation of either yeast growth or division by the incident light.

The effect of cosmic-ray shielding on the ultraweak bioluminescence emitted by cultures of Escherichia coli.

Neither the growth of Escherichia coli nor its associated luminescence was significantly affected when cultures were shielded from the soft component of cosmic rays. The study included experiments in which the cultures were shielded intermittently during their two periods of luminescence emission and experiments in which the cultures were continuously shielded throughout their entire growth cycle. These results do not support previous suggestions that the ultraweak bioluminescences from living organisms might be cosmic-ray-excited fluorescences induced in certain biological molecules synthesized during the various stages of growth.

A critical examination of the bioplasma hypothesis.

The hypothesis of Zon (Physiol. Chem. and Physics 11, 501-506 (1979); 12, 357-364 (1980] that regions of semiconduction within living organisms may exhibit plasma behaviour is shown to be most unlikely.

An attempt to stimulate mitosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae with the ultraviolet luminescence from exponential phase cultures of this yeast.

Neither cell division nor growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were stimulated by the ultraviolet luminescence produced by adjacent exponential phase cultures of the yeast. The study included experiments in which the inocula (density = 5 X 10(7) cells cm-3) were irradiated and in which lag phase cultures (densities = 1 X 10(6) or 5 X 10(6) cells cm-3) were irradiated for 30 min with the yeast luminescence. These results do not support the claims of earlier workers that dividing cells can stimulate mitosis in optically coupled cultures by the so-called "mitogenetic effect.