Determination of Barium in Gunshot Residue Collection Swabs Using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry

Abstract
Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) was compared with atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) for barium determination in gunshot residue (GSR) collection swabs. Lack of interferences by common swab extract constituents, a wide linear dynamic range, and good precision and accuracy of ICP-AES make it superior to AAS for barium determination in GSR swab extracts.