Chemical attribution of the home-made explosive ETN – Part I: Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of partially nitrated erythritol impurities

Erythritol tetranitrate (ETN) was prepared independently by two research groups from the USA and the Netherlands. The partially nitrated impurities present in ETN were studied using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to address the ultimate challenge in forensic explosives investigations, i.e., providing chemical and tactical information on...

Chemical attribution of the home-made explosive ETN – Part II: Isotope ratio mass spectrometry analysis of ETN and its precursors

In this follow-up study the collaboration between two research groups from the USA and the Netherlands was continued to expand the framework of chemical attribution for the homemade explosive erythritol tetranitrate (ETN). Isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) analysis was performed to predict possible links between ETN samples and its...

The impact of skin decontamination on the time window for effective treatment of percutaneous VX exposure

The main goal of the present study was to obtain insight into depot formation and penetration following percutaneous VX poisoning, in order to identify an appropriate decontamination window that can enhance or support medical countermeasures. The study was executed in two phases, using the hairless guinea pig as an animal model. In the first...

Increasing nerve agent treatment efficacy by P-glycoprotein inhibition

One of the shortcomings of current treatment of nerve agent poisoning is that not all drugs effectively penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB), whereas most nerve agents easily do. P-glycoprotein (Pgp) efflux transporters at the BBB may contribute to this aspect. It was previously shown that Pgp inhibition by tariquidar enhanced the efficacy of...

Isotopic and elemental profiling of ammonium nitrate in forensic explosives investigations

Ammonium nitrate (AN) is frequently encountered in explosives in forensic casework. It is widely available as fertilizer and easy to implement in explosive devices, for example by mixing it with a fuel. Forensic profiling methods to determine whether material found on a crime scene and material retrieved from a suspect arise from the same source...

Elimination kinetics and molecular reaction mechanisms of cyclosarin (GF) by an oxime substituted β-cyclodextrin derivative in vitro

Detoxification mechanisms of the chemical warfare agent cyclosarin (GF) in presence of 6-OxP-CD were investigated in detail in in vitro model systems. Most important finding was the preference of 6-Ox-P-CD to eliminate the more toxic (-)-GF. However, elimination of GF enantiomers was dependent on the 6-OxP-CD:GF ratios showing decreasing...

Forensic analysis of explosions: Inverse calculation of the charge mass

Forensic analysis of explosions consists of determining the point of origin, the explosive substance involved, and the charge mass. Within the EU fP7 project Hyperion, TNO developed the Inverse Explosion Analysis (TNO-IEA) tool to estïmate the charge mass and point of origin based on observed damage around an explosion. In this paper inverse...

Mass spectrometric identification of isocyanate-induced modifications of keratins in human skin

In the current paper we show that exposure of human callus to isocyanates leads to covalent modifications within keratin proteins. Mass spectrometric analyses of pronase digests of keratin isolated from exposed callus show that both mono- and di-adducts (for di-isocyanates) are predominantly formed on the ε-amino group of lysine. In addition,...

The role of low-grade inflammation and metabolic flexibility in aging and nutritional modulation thereof: A systems biology approach

Aging is a biological process characterized by the progressive functional decline of many interrelated physiological systems. In particular, aging is associated with the development of a systemic state of low-grade chronic inflammation (inflammaging), and with progressive deterioration of metabolic function. Systems biology has helped in...