Differentiation of Twenty‐One Glitter Lip‐Glosses by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy *

Abstract:  Differentiation of 21 glitter lip‐glosses from seven manufacturers was attempted by pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. Samples were pyrolyzed on a ribbon probe at 800°C for 20 sec and analyzed with an Agilent® 6890N Network GC System and Agilent® 5973 Network Mass Selective Detector with MSD Productivity ChemStation® Data Analysis software. The total ion chromatograms obtained were examined and differences in the presence or absence of certain chromatographic peaks corresponding to certain pyrolysis products (e.g., styrene, cyclohexane) noted. In cases where the total ion chromatograms between lip‐glosses were similar, select ion profiling was performed. Of the 21 lip‐glosses, 15 were differentiated by either the total ion chromatograms alone or through select ion profiling. Considering that lip‐glosses are typically worn by young women (who are disproportionately victims of sexual assault), this study offers the potential of being able to provide investigative leads in sexual assault investigations with evidentiary samples of this kind.

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