Forensic Science Project 2008
ECoS Faculty: Dan Sykes
ECoS Undergraduate Mentor: Jennifer Morehead
Effect of Substrates on the Extraction and Analysis of Ink
Forensic science is the scientific discipline in which evidence collected in a legal or medical
case is examined in a detailed way to find out where it came from, how it was made, or how it
was damaged or altered. This project involves a study of writing samples that use ink. There are
several objectives:
1. Explain the properties and functions of the various components found in ink
formulations.
2. Determine the physical properties of inks to include: color, texture, thickness,
metallic/nonmetallic/pearlescent, and other surface characteristics.
3. Know the characteristics that can be observed from a microscopic examination of a
sample of ink.
4. Safely prepare chemical reagents used in the chemical analysis of ink formulations.
5. Successfully analyze a variety of ink samples using several standard techniques: optical
microscopy, ultra violet-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS), Fourier-transform infrared
spectroscopy (FTIR), laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), gas
chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), and thin-layer chromatography (TLC).
6. Study the identification of fibers and fiber surface treatments using pyrolysis GC-MS
techniques.