Bioassays for bomb-makers: proof of concept

Clandestine bomb-makers are exposed to significant amounts of explosives and allied materials. As with any ingested xenobiotic substance, these compounds are subject to biotransformation. As such, the potential exists that characteristic suites of biomarkers may be produced and deposited in matrices that can be exploited for forensic and investigative purposes. However, before such assays can be developed, foundational data must be gathered regarding the toxicokinetics, fate, and transport of the resulting biomarkers within the body and in matrices such as urine, hair, nails, sweat, feces, and saliva. This report presents an in vitro method for simulation of human metabolic transformations using human liver microsomes and an assay applicable to representative nitro-explosives. Control and metabolized samples of TNT, RDX, HMX, and tetryl were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) and biomarkers identified for each. The challenges associated with this method arise from solubility issues and limitations imposed by instrumentation, specifically, modes of ionization.