Which is a common forensic application of isotope ratio mass spectrometry?

Which is a common forensic application of isotope ratio mass spectrometry?

• A. Sourcing drugs or determining geographic origin of materials.
• B. Dating bones beyond radiocarbon dating.
• C. Sequencing DNA from hair.
• D. Classifying soil color.

Answer: (A)

Isotope ratio mass spectrometry works by measuring the relative amounts of stable isotopes in a material to create a chemical fingerprint. Because isotopic compositions are shaped by local geology, climate, and production processes, the resulting signature can point to where a substance originated or how it was produced. This makes it especially useful for linking seized materials to geographic sources or verifying the origin of drugs and other materials in forensic investigations. Other options involve techniques that are not based on stable isotope ratios: dating bones typically uses radiometric methods, DNA sequencing requires genetic analysis, and soil color is determined by physical/visual properties rather than isotope signatures.