Determination of Blue Ballpoint Pen Ink by Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

To establish an identification method for the forensic analysis of blue ballpoint ink by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), 95 kinds of blue ballpoint pen from different manufacturers were detected. These blue ballpoint pens were classified into 34 groups according to their metal element components, among which, 26 groups can be directly distinguished according to the types of metal element components contained in the ballpoint pen, the other groups can be distinguished by different element response ratios. Meanwhile the examination result on the papers showed that the papers have no impact on the ink handwriting analysis. Experimental results showed that the method's reproducibility is good and precision is less than 10%. This method has better identification ability than traditional identification technology for questioned document. Eighty eight kinds of blue ballpoint pen out of the total 95 selected kinds can be distinguished with this method. The established method is simple, rapid, with good precision, and almost has no damage to the sample. It is particularly suitable for the demand of identification of blue ballpoint pen in forensic science.