The Classification of Inkjet Inks Using AccuTOF^™DART^™ (Direct Analysis in Real Time) Mass Spectrometry—A Preliminary Study

Abstract

A novel approach for the analysis of inkjet inks is being reported. A time-of-flight mass spectrometer, coupled with a Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART™) ion source (AccuTOF™ DART™), was used to determine if inkjet inks from various manufacturers and models of printers could be reliably differentiated, characterized, and identified. A total of 217 ink standards were analyzed. As inkjet printing often involves the use of multiple colors (e.g., cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) to form an image or text, two different approaches to creating a library of standards and sampling methods were evaluated for implementation in a standard operating procedure. This research will show that a microscopic examination of the region of interest is requisite to identify what colors were utilized during the printing process, prior to comparing with known standards. Finally, blind testing was administered with 10 unknown samples to assess the validity and accuracy of the methodology.

An improved method for the determination of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural in Shenfu injection by direct analysis in real time‐quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

“…The use of DART‐MS will significantly increase flexibility, and thus enlarge the application fields. Presently, this technique has been widely applied in metabolic fingerprinting, drug and food inspection, writing inks classification, polymer detection, etc.…”

“…The use of DART-MS will significantly increase flexibility, and thus enlarge the application fields. Presently, this technique has been widely applied in metabolic fingerprinting, [2][3][4] drug and food inspection, [5][6][7][8][9] writing inks classification, [10,11] polymer detection, [12,13] etc. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is one of the major decomposition products from the direct dehydration of dextrose during heat processing or long periods of storage.…”

Chemometric brand differentiation of commercial spices using direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry

“…Among the various ambient ionization techniques introduced and popularized over the last ten years, DART, or direct analysis in real time, has stood out for its ability to generate ions from a wide variety of analytes without extensive sample preparation. [1][2][3] DART has found particular applications in the fields of health, forensics, and security; some widely studied applications of DART have included the analysis of drugs of abuse, [4][5][6][7] toxic chemicals and chemical warfare agents, [8][9][10] and trace evidence, [11][12][13] among many others. Of particular interest to this study, DART has been used for analyzing ignitable liquids and explosives [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] and for classifying samples of biological origin, including trade lumber, [22] Trappist beer, [23] poultry, [24] and fruits with ambiguous botanical origins.…”

A Novel Forensic Tool for the Characterization and Comparison of Printing Ink Evidence: Development and Evaluation of a Searchable Database Using Data Fusion of Spectrochemical Methods

“…Mass spectrometry has the benefit of providing unambiguous identification of organic compounds. When coupled with an ambient ionization source, such as DART-MS, it offers attractive advantages for ink examinations such as none or minimal sample preparation, minimal destruction of the ink or the paper substrate, good sensitivity, and possibly good discrimination potential based on the characterization of additive content in printing inks (7,19).…”