Mass spec called in to combat counterfeit trade

US developers have come up with a vital tool in battling counterfeit trade in the country, using mass spec imaging to counter the ever-increasing sophistication of counterfeit trade.

The nanoparticle barcode has been developed by researchers in an attempt to overcome harder-to-trace counterfeit methods. The group, from the University of Massachusetts, was led by Vincent Rotello, and managed to create a barcode that uses gold nanoparticles injected into ink by straightforward inkjet printing.

This barcode is then detectible in an ambient and non-destructive manner using laser desorption ionisation mass spectrometry imaging. By incorporating ligands of varying alkyl chain length (and thus mass) into the nanoparticle, the area can be selectively scanned for a particular mass.

Group member Richard Vachet explains: "The materials themselves are not easy to make and the imaging is sophisticated enough that anyone wanting to counterfeit may not have the ability to do that."

This is the first time mass spectrometry has been used in this way, and offers a non-destructive method that is accurate and of good quality.

Posted by Ben Evans