Our good friend, Ron Moore, Esquire writes us “I actually had a client researching lawyers who looked at the Truth About Forensic Science geek of the week posts and liked my answers. It made a difference in who he decided to hire. Thanks!” So, there is a lot of value in www.TheTruthAboutForensicScience.com Forensic Science Geek of the Week Challenge. Try it out today.
Forensic Science Geek of the Week
Thanks to the combined inspiration of Christine Funk, Esquire and Chuck Ramsay, Esquire, a new twist of this blog is being introduced. A weekly fun forensic science challenge/trivia question. The winner will be affectionately dubbed “www.TheTruthAboutForensicScience.com Forensic Science Geek of the Week.”
Rules:
- The challenge will be posted Sunday morning 12 noon EST.
- Answers to the challenge will be entered by responding to this blog post or thewww.TheTruthAboutForensicScience.com FaceBook fan page.
- All comments that are answers to this blog will released after 9pm EST.
- The first complete and correct answer will be awarded the envious title of “www.TheTruthAboutForensicScience.com Forensic Science Geek of the Week”
- “www.TheTruthAboutForensicScience.com Forensic Science Geek of the Week” is entitled a one time post of his/her picture on this blog and the www.TheTruthAboutForensicScience.com FaceBook fan page. The coveted title will be his/her for that week. Additionally, a winner will be allowed one link to one webpage of his/her choice. Both the picture and the weblink is subject to the approval of Justin J McShane, Esquire and will only be screened for appropriate taste.
- The winner will be announced Sunday night.
- A winner may only repeat two times in a row, then will have to sit out a week to be eligible again. This person, who was the two time in a row winner, may answer the question, but will be disqualified from the honor so as to allow others to participate.
- This is for learning and for fun. EVERYONE IS ENCOURAGED TO TRY TO ANSWER THE WEEKLY QUESTION. So give it a shot.
Here it is:
The www.TheTruthAboutForensicScience.com “Forensic Science Geek of the Week” challenge question. Remember the first full and complete answer wins the honor and also gets his/her photo displayed, bragging rights for the week and finally website promotion.
OFFICIAL QUESTION:
1. What specific technique is depicted in this photo?
2. Why is it performed?
3. Explain it.
4. What are its limitations?
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Robert Lantz, Ph.D. says:
It is a ThermoFinnigan GCMS system, with autosampler. The GC is used to separate the volatile components in the pill extract. If the compound is not volatile or gives an uninteresting MS, derivatization can be used to make the substance more volatile or have a more definitive MS.
GC has much better resolution potential than does LC (HPLC), so the retention time for the analyte compound is more informative.
The limitations of the system include the lack of MSMS capability, and the common problem with all GC experiments, that the analyte must be volatile. I do not own this particular instrument, so I cannot speak to other features of this model. If it is an ion trap MS, some have an MSMS option.
Some analytes, such as methampehtamine provide non-characteristic mass spectra and may not separate from likely interferences, such as phentermine. Derivatization will, in this case, improve both the usefulness of the MS and the retention time. That is, the MS of meth and phentermine are identical. However, if the molecules are derivatized, the MS are quite different, as are the retention times.