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Search Publications by: Thomas P. Forbes (Fed)

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Displaying 1 - 25 of 43

Rapid chemical screening of microplastics and nanoplastics by thermal desorption and pyrolysis mass spectrometry with unsupervised fuzzy clustering

August 11, 2023
Author(s)
Thomas P. Forbes, John Pettibone, Eric S. Windsor, Joseph M. Conny, Robert A. Fletcher
The transport and chemical identification of microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) are critical to the concerns over plastic accumulation in the environment. Chemically and physically transient MNP species present unique challenges for isolation and

Field-Deployable Devices

January 1, 2023
Author(s)
Thomas P. Forbes, Raychelle Burks
Reductions in instrument size, weight, and power continue to facilitate the development and application of field-deployable devices for investigative purposes. Portable analytical instrumentation supporting the rapid and reliable identification of two

Forensic Applications of DART-MS: A Review of Recent Literature

June 17, 2021
Author(s)
Edward Sisco, Thomas Forbes
The need for rapid chemical analyses and new analytical tools in forensic laboratories continues to grow due to case backlogs, difficult to analyze cases, and identification of previously unseen materials such as new psychoactive substances. To adapt to

Optimization of Confined DART-MS

February 14, 2020
Author(s)
Edward R. Sisco, Matthew E. Staymates, Thomas P. Forbes
The use of direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) is seeing increased use in a number of fields, including forensic science, environmental monitoring, food safety, and healthcare. With the increased use, novel configurations have been

Emerging techniques for the detection of pyrotechnic residues from seized postal packages containing fireworks

January 24, 2020
Author(s)
John Gillen, Thomas Forbes, Jennifer R. Verkouteren, Shannon T. Krauss, Karlijn Bezemer, Arian C. van Asten, Peter J. Shoenmakers, Mattijs Koeberg
High volume screening of parcels with the aim to trace the illegal distribution and selling of fireworks using postal services is challenging. Inspection services have limited manpower and means to perform extensive visual inspection. In this study, the

Discriminative potential of ion mobility spectrometry for the detection of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues relative to confounding environmental interferents

September 27, 2019
Author(s)
Thomas Forbes, Jeffrey Lawrence, Jennifer R. Verkouteren, R. Michael Verkouteren
The opioid crisis and emergence of fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and other synthetic opioids has highlighted the need for sensitive and robust detection for interdiction at screening points, notably vehicles at border crossings and packages at postal

A Standards and Measurement Infrastructure for Calibration, Verification and Optimization of Trace Explosives Detection Systems

April 15, 2019
Author(s)
John G. Gillen, Jennifer R. Verkouteren, R M. Verkouteren, Marcela N. Najarro, Edward R. Sisco, Matthew E. Staymates, Jessica L. Staymates, Robert A. Fletcher, Jeffrey A. Lawrence, Elizabeth L. Robinson, Alexander T. Bulk, Joseph A. Bennett, Shinichiro Muramoto, Thomas P. Forbes
Current national priorities in homeland security have led to an unprecedented level of utilization of explosives trace detection (ETD) systems for counterterrorism and law enforcement. Despite the widespread deployment of ETD instruments at airports

Recent Advances in Ambient Mass Spectrometry of Trace Explosives

May 6, 2018
Author(s)
Thomas Forbes, Edward Sisco
Ambient mass spectrometry has evolved rapidly over the past decade, yielding a plethora of platforms and demonstrating scientific advancements across a range of fields from biological imaging to rapid quality control. These techniques have enabled real

DART-MS analysis of inorganic explosives using high temperature thermal desorption

May 4, 2017
Author(s)
Thomas P. Forbes, Edward R. Sisco, Matthew E. Staymates, John G. Gillen
An ambient mass spectrometry (AMS) platform coupling Joule heating thermal desorption (JHTD) and direct analysis in real time (DART) was developed, generating discretely pulsed rapid heating ramps and elevated temperatures for the detection of inorganic