RADIAN™ ASAP Mass Spectrometry for the Detection and Analysis of Explosive Traces

Mass spectrometry is ideally suited to the analysis of trace explosive contamination, offering the sensitivity and selectivity required to detect very small quantities of organic explosive materials. Over the past 20 years, liquid chromatography paired with triple‑quadrupole and high‑resolution mass spectrometry has become the mainstay of forensic laboratories, gradually replacing GC and GC–MS for the analysis of many explosive compounds.

At the same time, ion mobility spectrometers (IMS) have become the dominant technology for explosives threat detection (ETD) in security environments, ensuring that airports and other vulnerable sites can rapidly screen for illicit trace residues.

Recently, the Waters RADIAN™ ASAP mass spectrometer has gained popularity for rapid, targeted screening of illicit drugs in law‑enforcement workflows worldwide. This presentation will explore how the capabilities of the RADIAN system can be extended to the identification of explosive materials across a range of scenarios. It will also consider how the instrument can be used to model ions generated by explosives to support the development of new detection technologies, and ultimately how mass spectrometry could contribute to future security‑screening applications.

Presenter: Dr. Patrick Sears (Senior Lecturer of Chemistry and Forensic Analysis, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Surrey)

Dr. Patrick Sears is a Senior Lecturer of Chemistry and Forensic Analysis at the University of Surrey in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. His research expertise and background include developing analytical chemistry solutions for complex problems and understanding how analytical systems can be broken down to improve precision and accuracy. Patrick chairs the ambient ionisation interest group of the British Mass Spectrometry Society and his main research focus is how these technologies can be used to address a diverse range of applications including Drugs of Abuse, Explosives, Environmental Pollutants and Pesticides.

Dr. Sears received his B.Sc. (1995) and M.Sc. (1996) from the University of Durham before completing a Ph.D. at the University of Hull completing research on the catalytic oxidation of isobutene by uranium oxide. After being awarded his PhD, Dr. Sears worked in process safety analysis (at Rhodia CSD and Thermal Hazard Technology) and in reaction optimisation and flow chemistry (at Syrris) before joining the defence science and technology laboratory (Dstl) in 2008. At Dstl, Dr. Sears was a team leader in the Forensic Explosives Laboratory and latterly a Principal Scientist in Explosives Detection where his research interests included the analysis of trace explosive contamination and residues.