Forensic analysis of pepper sprays by chromatographic technique

Pepper sprays have gained popularity as personal defence tools due to their ease of production and accessibility of ingredients at home, as well as readily availability in the market. Their potential use in criminal activities necessitates effective forensic analysis methods to accurately identify a...

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Main Author:	Ali, Noor Yasmin Mohamad
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English
Published:	2023
Subjects:	R Medicine
Online Access:	http://eprints.usm.my/60218/1/NOOR%20YASMIN%20BINTI%20MOHAMAD%20ALI-E.pdf
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id	my-usm-ep.60218
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spelling	my-usm-ep.602182024-03-19T06:38:38Z Forensic analysis of pepper sprays by chromatographic technique 2023-09 Ali, Noor Yasmin Mohamad R Medicine RA1001 Forensic Medicine. Medical jurisprudence. Legal medicine Pepper sprays have gained popularity as personal defence tools due to their ease of production and accessibility of ingredients at home, as well as readily availability in the market. Their potential use in criminal activities necessitates effective forensic analysis methods to accurately identify and differentiate the chemical constituents present. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the chemical profiles of homemade and commercially available pepper sprays in Malaysia by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In this study, five homemade pepper sprays made up of different species of chilli pepper, namely red and green chilli, red and green bird’s eye, and habanero pepper, as well as four commercial pepper sprays were investigated. Both homemade and commercial pepper spray samples underwent sample preparation step to extract the active compounds from the samples and analysed using gas GC-MS followed by principal component analysis (PCA). From the study, a GC-MS method was optimised for the analysis of pepper spray samples. Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin were found to be present in all homemade pepper spray samples. Additional peaks corresponding to homocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, and nonivamide were also observed in green and red bird's eye-, as well as habanero-prepared pepper spray solutions. Moreover, pepper spray solutions produced from red bird's eye and habanero exhibited extra peak corresponding to nordihydrocapsaicin. In contrast, the commercial pepper spray only contains one capsaicinoid compound, namely nonivamide. The PCA allowed for the differentiation of homemade and commercially available pepper sprays by considering only the capsaicinoid contents. Further discrimination, especially among the homemade samples could be achieved by decomposing the 74 interpretable peaks from the GC-MS profiles. To conclude, the chemical composition of pepper sprays, especially the handmade and commercially available pepper sprays were determined through the GC-MS method. It would be used to analyse any forensic evidence suspected to have contained pepper spray residues to link to the possible sources. 2023-09 Thesis http://eprints.usm.my/60218/ http://eprints.usm.my/60218/1/NOOR%20YASMIN%20BINTI%20MOHAMAD%20ALI-E.pdf application/pdf en public masters Universiti Sains Malaysia Pusat Pengajian Sains Kesihatan
institution	Universiti Sains Malaysia
collection	USM Institutional Repository
language	English
topic	R Medicine R Medicine
spellingShingle	R Medicine R Medicine Ali, Noor Yasmin Mohamad Forensic analysis of pepper sprays by chromatographic technique
description	Pepper sprays have gained popularity as personal defence tools due to their ease of production and accessibility of ingredients at home, as well as readily availability in the market. Their potential use in criminal activities necessitates effective forensic analysis methods to accurately identify and differentiate the chemical constituents present. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the chemical profiles of homemade and commercially available pepper sprays in Malaysia by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In this study, five homemade pepper sprays made up of different species of chilli pepper, namely red and green chilli, red and green bird’s eye, and habanero pepper, as well as four commercial pepper sprays were investigated. Both homemade and commercial pepper spray samples underwent sample preparation step to extract the active compounds from the samples and analysed using gas GC-MS followed by principal component analysis (PCA). From the study, a GC-MS method was optimised for the analysis of pepper spray samples. Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin were found to be present in all homemade pepper spray samples. Additional peaks corresponding to homocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, and nonivamide were also observed in green and red bird's eye-, as well as habanero-prepared pepper spray solutions. Moreover, pepper spray solutions produced from red bird's eye and habanero exhibited extra peak corresponding to nordihydrocapsaicin. In contrast, the commercial pepper spray only contains one capsaicinoid compound, namely nonivamide. The PCA allowed for the differentiation of homemade and commercially available pepper sprays by considering only the capsaicinoid contents. Further discrimination, especially among the homemade samples could be achieved by decomposing the 74 interpretable peaks from the GC-MS profiles. To conclude, the chemical composition of pepper sprays, especially the handmade and commercially available pepper sprays were determined through the GC-MS method. It would be used to analyse any forensic evidence suspected to have contained pepper spray residues to link to the possible sources.
format	Thesis
qualification_level	Master's degree
author	Ali, Noor Yasmin Mohamad
author_facet	Ali, Noor Yasmin Mohamad
author_sort	Ali, Noor Yasmin Mohamad
title	Forensic analysis of pepper sprays by chromatographic technique
title_short	Forensic analysis of pepper sprays by chromatographic technique
title_full	Forensic analysis of pepper sprays by chromatographic technique
title_fullStr	Forensic analysis of pepper sprays by chromatographic technique
title_full_unstemmed	Forensic analysis of pepper sprays by chromatographic technique
title_sort	forensic analysis of pepper sprays by chromatographic technique
granting_institution	Universiti Sains Malaysia
granting_department	Pusat Pengajian Sains Kesihatan
publishDate	2023
url	http://eprints.usm.my/60218/1/NOOR%20YASMIN%20BINTI%20MOHAMAD%20ALI-E.pdf
_version_	1794024108914114560

Forensic analysis of pepper sprays by chromatographic technique

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