GC-ECD
Definition
Gas chromatography with electron capture detection. Achieves 1-10 picogram detection limits for nitroaromatic (TNT, DNT) and nitramine (RDX, HMX, PETN) explosives. Cannot detect TATP or urea nitrate. The primary laboratory screening method for conventional high explosives.
- Detection capability
- Nitroaromatic (TNT, DNT) and nitramine (RDX, HMX, PETN) explosives
- Sensitivity limit
- 1-10 picograms (picogram-level detection)
- Detector type
- Electron capture detector using 63Ni source
Common questions
What explosives can GC-ECD detect?+
GC-ECD detects conventional high explosives, particularly nitroaromatic explosives like TNT and DNT, and nitramine explosives such as RDX, HMX, and PETN. It cannot detect TATP or urea nitrate. This makes it suited for screening post-blast residue when conventional explosives are suspected.
How sensitive is GC-ECD for explosive residue?+
GC-ECD achieves picogram-level detection limits, typically 1-10 picograms for nitroaromatic and nitramine explosives. This sensitivity allows investigators to detect explosive residues even in trace amounts at blast scenes.
Why is GC-ECD the primary lab method for explosives screening?+
GC-ECD is the primary laboratory screening method for conventional high explosives. Its electron capture detector is particularly effective at detecting the nitro groups that characterize conventional explosives such as TNT, RDX, PETN, and HMX.
Related terms
- Brisance (Shattering Power)
- The localised shattering effect of a detonation shock wave, measured by the Trauzl lead block test or the sand-crush test. RDX and...
- C-4
- US military standard plastic explosive containing approximately 91% RDX in a di(2-ethylhexyl)sebacate and polyisobutylene binder. White, odourless, malleable. Detonation velocity 8,050 m/s....
- CFSL Hyderabad Explosives Wing
- The explosives examination section of India's Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Hyderabad, the designated court-certifying facility for explosives analysis in major Indian...
- Composition B (Comp B)
- A secondary high explosive formulation of 60% RDX and 40% TNT by mass, melt-cast from the TNT matrix. Used in artillery shells,...
- Control Swab (Background)
- A swab collected from an uncontaminated surface outside the outer cordon of a blast scene, processed identically to scene swabs, to establish...
- Detonating Cord (Det Cord)
- A flexible tube containing a PETN explosive core at a standard linear charge density (3.6 g/m for No. 2 cord). Propagates detonation...
- DMDNB
- 2,3-Dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane, the primary detection taggant mandated by the 1991 ICAO Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives. Required at 0.1% by mass...
- ICAO Montreal Protocol on Plastic Explosives (1991)
- The Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection, adopted by ICAO following the Lockerbie and UTA bombings....
- Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS)
- A field-deployable analytical technique that separates ions by their mobility in an electric field at atmospheric pressure. Used for trace explosive detection...
- LC-MS/MS (Negative ESI)
- Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry in negative-ion electrospray ionisation mode. Confirmatory method for all conventional secondary explosives and the primary method...
- Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM)
- An LC-MS/MS acquisition mode in which the first quadrupole (Q1) selects a precursor ion at a specific m/z, the second (Q2) fragments...
- NIST SRM 8806
- A National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Reference Material for explosive residue analysis, providing certified reference solutions of TNT, RDX, PETN,...
Explained in these topics
- Conventional High Explosives: TNT, RDX, PETN, HMX, Composition B, C-4 and SemtexGas chromatography with electron capture detection. The primary analytical method for nitroaromatic and nitramine explosives in post-blast residue. Achieves pi...
- Post-Blast Residue Sampling and the IMS, GC-ECD, LC-MS/MS WorkflowGas chromatography with electron capture detection. Achieves 1-10 picogram detection limits for nitroaromatic (TNT, DNT) and nitramine (RDX, HMX, PETN) explosi...