The potential of accelerator-based techniques as an analytical tool for forensics: The case of coffee

P Chytry; G M S Souza; R Debastiani; C E I Dos Santos; J M R Antoine; A Banas; K Banas; L Calcagnile; M Chiari; I Hajdas; M Molnar; P Pelicon; N Pessoa Barradas; G Quarta; F S Romolo; A Simon; J F Dias

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2022.111281

The potential of accelerator-based techniques as an analytical tool for forensics: The case of coffee

Forensic Sci Int. 2022 Jun:335:111281. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2022.111281. Epub 2022 Mar 24.

Authors

P Chytry¹, G M S Souza², R Debastiani³, C E I Dos Santos⁴, J M R Antoine⁵, A Banas⁶, K Banas⁶, L Calcagnile⁷, M Chiari⁸, I Hajdas⁹, M Molnar¹⁰, P Pelicon¹¹, N Pessoa Barradas¹², G Quarta⁷, F S Romolo¹³, A Simon¹², J F Dias¹⁴

Affiliations

¹ LII - Ion Implantation Laboratory, Institute of Physics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av Bento Gonçalves 9500, CP 15051, CEP 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Graduate Program on Materials Science, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av Bento Gonçalves 9500, CEP 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
² LII - Ion Implantation Laboratory, Institute of Physics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av Bento Gonçalves 9500, CP 15051, CEP 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
³ Institute of Nanotechnology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany; 3DMM20-Cluster of Excellence (EXC-2082/1-390761711), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76128 Karlsruhe, Germany.
⁴ Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Federal University of Rio Grande, Campus Santo Antônio da Patrulha, CEP 95500-000 Santo Antônio da Patrulha, RS, Brazil.
⁵ International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences, University of the West Indies, 2 Anguilla Close, 7 Kingston, Jamaica.
⁶ SSLS - Singapore Synchrotron Light Source, National University of Singapore, 5 Research Link, Singapore 117603, Singapore.
⁷ CEDAD - Centre for Applied Physics, Dating and Diagnostics, Department of Mathematics and Physics Ennio de Giorgi, University of Salento, Piazza Tancredi 2, 73100 Lecce, Italy; INFN - National Institute of Nuclear Physics, Lecce Section, Lecce, Italy.
⁸ INFN - National Institute of Nuclear Physics, Florence Section, Physics Department, Via Sansone 1, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy.
⁹ ETHZ - Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Laboratory for Ion Beam Physics, Otto-Stern-Weg 5, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
¹⁰ ICER - Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research, Institute of Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Bem tér 18/c, 4026 Debrecen, Hungary.
¹¹ Jozef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, P.O. Box 3000, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
¹² International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna International Centre, Vienna, Austria.
¹³ Universitá degli Studi di Bergamo, Department of Law, Via Moroni 255, 24127 Bergamo, Italy.
¹⁴ LII - Ion Implantation Laboratory, Institute of Physics, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av Bento Gonçalves 9500, CP 15051, CEP 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Graduate Program on Materials Science, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Av Bento Gonçalves 9500, CEP 91501-970 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: jfdias@if.ufrgs.br.

PMID: 35429777
DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2022.111281

Abstract

We discuss how different accelerator-based techniques can be employed synergistically as a powerful analytical tool for forensic studies of foodstuff. Brazilian and Jamaican coffees were chosen as a showcase due to its popularity and potential risk of adulteration and/or falsification. Comprehensive characterization of major and trace elements, age since production and compound contents were achieved using different techniques, including PIXE (Particle-Induced X-ray Emission), FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared), and AMS-¹⁴C (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry - Radiocarbon Analysis). While PIXE provides information on the elements present in the samples, FTIR probes the types of compounds through their vibrational spectra. Finally, AMS-¹⁴C is capable of dating organic samples regarding their harvesting time. Five different laboratories from research institutions around the world took part in the experiments. The integration of the results obtained with different techniques provided multifaceted perspectives on the coffee under study, thus allowing a direct assessment of the material for forensic purposes such as authentication, determination of provenance, and combat counterfeiting.

Keywords: AMS-14C; Coffee; FTIR; Forensic science; PIXE.

MeSH terms

Brazil
Coffee*
Drug Contamination
Mass Spectrometry / methods
Trace Elements*

Substances

Coffee
Trace Elements