Forensic Science International, 25 (1984) 155-157 Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd.

155

BOOKREVIEWS

Pyrolysis mass spectrometry of recent and fossil biomaterials. Compendium and atlas. H.L.C. Meuzelaar, J. Haverkamp & F.D. Hileman; Publisher: Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., Amsterdam 1982. pp. xiii + 293. 145 DFI (approx. &35).

Mass spectrometry has been established for several decades as a superb method for detecting and identifying organic compounds especially when only small amounts of substance are available. However, its successful use has been crucially dependent on a preliminary separation of the analyte into pure components and the technique only came to full fruition with the development of satisfactory ways of coupling the gas-chromatograph to the mass spectrometer. This has meant that whole ranges of materials could not be examined because of their instability, involatility or complexity, e.g. biological materials, polymers etc.

One of the most promising ways of dealing with these substances is to break them down by heating (pyrolysis) into simpler components, which can be characterised, and used indirectly thereby to establish the nature of the starting material. Professor Meuzelaar and his coworkers have been pioneers in using mass-spectrometry to examine these processes. They have done so by leading the pyrolysis products without separation directly into the mass spectrometer, measuring the spectrum repetitively and storing the accumulated scans. These are then converted into an average mass spectrum, which is characteristic of the starting material. Pattern recognition techni- ques can be used for assessing the identification and it is evident therefore that the availability of a computer is essential for the carrying out of this process.

In the first part of the book, consisting of some 98 pages, the authors discuss the basic principles and their application. The level of presentation is that of a review giving the reader an introduction to the principles both of the process, how the data are obtained, how reliable they are and how they are handled by way of pattern recognition. Attention is also devoted to particular groups of materials, their pyrolysis mechanisms and how this is reflected in the mass spectra. Adequate references are given to enable the reader to follow up any item in greater detail.

The second part is an atlas of selected pyrolysis mass spectra with a short introduction on the experimental conditions used in obtaining the spectra, their format and on the identity of some of the prominent fragment peaks which occur in the spectra. The spectra are subdivided into those from the following groups of materials, where the figure in parentheses is the number

156

of examples: carbohydrates and glycocongugates (27); peptides and proteins (13); nucleotides and nucleic acids (9); lipids (13); natural products such as cotton, silk, wood, rubber etc (16); soils and related materials (29); biologi- cal important compounds, e.g. drugs, vitamins, metabolites (11); synthetic polymers (13).

Only a minor proportion of these would be of direct interest to the forensic scientist. It is of interest that a literature search showed that between 1975 and 1982 there were over 500 papers on pyrolysis mass spectrometry but only six devoted to forensic applications. However, this must not be construed as lack of usefulness. The authors have shown that detailed information can be obtained speedily and reproducibly from amounts of material in the microgram range which cannot be dealt with adequately by other methods. The technique is therefore tailor-made for many of the items with which the forensic scientist has to deal, such as paint fragments, fibres and scraps of plastic.

The book is to be recommended since it is a very useful contribution to encouraging wider use of what promises to be a very important method in the forensic field.

It is well produced, relatively free from typographical errors but at a price of $35 is probably beyond the purse of most readers.

Ray Williams, London.

Latent Fingerprints: A Review of their Origin, Composition and Methods for Detection, by G.C. Goode and J.R. Morris, AWRE Report No. 022/83, UK Unclassified, October 1983, pp 139. Available free of charge from Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, MPD (PE), Aldermaston, Berk- shire, England.

This Report represents a major contribution to the literature on the means available for the detection of fingerprints and will be of immense value to all those concerned with the routine detection of latent marks and with research to find new or improved methods. It describes the results of many years of research on the chemical aspects of fingerprint develop- ment sponsored by the Home Office but carried out at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, Aldermaston.

The Report is divided into 5 main sections which deal with the chemical aspects of latent fingerprints, detection methods for general use, specialised methods and post-development procedures, the selection of methods and a bibliography. These are followed by 17 data sheets in the appendix which give detailed information about the composition of reagents and guidance on the application of the methods referred to in the body of the Report.