Current trends in explosive detection techniques

Abstract

The detection of explosives and explosive-related compounds has become a heightened priority in recent years for homeland security and counter-terrorism applications. There has been a huge increase in research within this area-through both the development of new, innovative detection approaches and the improvement of existing techniques. Developments for miniaturisation, portability, field-ruggedisation and improvements in stand-off distances, selectivity and sensitivity have been necessary to develop and improve techniques. This review provides a consolidation of information relating to recent advances in explosive detection techniques without being limited to one specific research area or explosive type. The focus of this review will be towards advances in the last 5 years, with the reader being referred to earlier reviews where appropriate.

Compound Explosives Detection and Component Analysis via Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

“…Furthermore, recent developments in THz technologies [6,7] showed that THz waves could be a strong candidate for overcoming the obstacles associated with conventional explosives detection technologies, leading to extensive applications in security and military-related fields [7][8][9][10]. It should be noted that THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) has been heavily utilized as the workhorse of the investigation of these capabilities of the THz regime, including the works on the detection and identification of both exposed and covered explosives through diffuse reflectance [11], investigation of the absorption spectra of numerous explosives and related compounds [12], and establishment of new spectral features within the frequency region of 3-6 THz [13,14].…”

Evaluation of the Scent Collection System for Its Effectiveness in Volatile Organic Compound Collection and Use in Canine Training

“…Trace detection utilizes either emitted vapors from the explosive or explosive particles deposited on surfaces. Some of the techniques used for bulk explosives include X-ray systems such as computed tomography (CT) that allows the characterization of materials by density, atomic number, and texture; and can be applied to personnel, luggage, large and small cargo, and vehicles [6,9,10]. X-ray diffraction (XRD) provides high specificity and very good spatial resolution for screening objects such as boxes and larger luggage.…”

“…The recent development of a new IMS inlet in which solid phase microextraction (SPME) can be used for the analysis of volatile compounds present in headspace systems has been used for identification of different explosive odor signatures [11]. Actually, miniaturizations of IMS devices have been widely used to detect explosives when checks are performed on passengers, baggage, vehicles, and containers [9,10 ].…”

“…Electrochemical sensors have been developed to respond to redox substances; therefore electrochemical detection is possible using the redox properties of nitro-aromatic explosive substances [10,17,18]. Electronic noses have also been used as chemical sensors in which each sensor interacts with vapor concentrations in different ways to eventually allow the recognition of the target compound [17].…”

Desenvolvimento de sensores eletroquímicos e colorimétricos para aplicações em amostras de interesse forense

“…A detecção de explosivos é importante nas investigações forenses e criminais, além do ponto de vista da saúde ambiental e da segurança [136]. Dada à importância do monitoramento dessas espécies visando à melhora da segurança militar e das análises forenses, é interessante o desenvolvimento de um método de análise simples, rápido e barato para a sua detecção e quantificação [137]. Assim, em colaboração com o aluno de iniciação cientifica João Junqueira, desenvolveu um método eletroanalítico acoplado com análise por injeção em fluxo para quantificação desse composto.…”