The FRIIME project addresses the question: ‘Can the intramolecular stable isotope composition be used to enhance the Forensic Intelligence capabilities to track the origin of home-made explosives and psychoactive substances?’ In the battle against the illicit drugs market, methodologies have been developed to address origin determination and trafficking route dismantlement for various scheduled molecules: this is the concept of drug profiling. Profiling methods can rely on synthetic impurities, residual solvents, etc. In FRIIME, the same objective will be pursued but using the powerful intrinsic marker of the isotopic content of the molecules in question. In recent years, stable isotope strategies have proved to be a valuable resource in various forensic fields, including explosives and illicit drugs. However, these prior studies were conducted using isotope ratio measured by Mass Spectrometry (irm-MS), which only allows the isotopic characterisation to be applied to the whole molecule of interest. FRIIME, by resorting to a cutting edge isotopic nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methodology, will investigate the position-specific distribution of isotopes in two common explosives, two well-known cutting agents used with illicit drugs and one new psychoactive substance. Isotopic 13C NMR will be applied to target molecules in order to refine the data obtained by irm-MS, as has already been demonstrated for counterfeiting of medicines. Furthermore, isotopic 15N NMR will be developed as a very pertinent contribution to the analyses of explosives. By collecting a larger number of parameters characteristic of the studied products than are currently obtainable, a new strategic and tactical paradigm will be made available to Law Enforcement Agencies enabling models of greater sophistication and predictive power to be developed, including the origins of raw materials and chemical reaction pathways used to manufacture targeted products. FRIIME is an ambitious and breakthrough project proposing a new approach made possible by uniting analytical chemists specialised in isotope analysis with scientists specialised in forensic applications. Innovative spin-offs from FRIIME can be expected in the following areas: • Rationalization of the connection between forensic science and intelligence-led policing: more data on position-specific isotope, 13C and 15N composition of home-made explosives (ammonium nitrate and urea nitrate) from different manufacturing processes, on psychoactive drugs (meta-chlorophenylpiperazine) , and on different cutting agents (caffeine, phenacetin). These data will serve to build refined models with which to combat crime. • An improved, more robust methodology through the high-precision isotopic characterization of a drug or an explosive for determining the origin of the raw materials and/or the manufacturing process used. • A protocol for isotopic NMR that can be adapted to other forensic fields, such as the environment (ground water or soil contamination), food control and toxicology, or counterfeit medicines. • Applications of a new instrumental methodology to other research domains: metabolomics, fluxomics and isotopomics. The success of the FRIIME project requires the interaction of scientific skills in quantitative NMR, Isotope Analytical Chemistry and Forensic investigation. To fulfil its purposes, FRIIME is built as a Collaborative Research Project associating two public partners: 1) the academic research team of the Isotope Analysis Group (EBSI) of CEISAM (Nantes), providing its innovative NMR platform, and 2) the French Police Forensic Institute: INPS (Lyon), providing a long-term experience in illicit drug profiling, including the use of its own irm-MS. Thanks to its expertise and experience in the areas of illicit drugs and explosives, INPS is in a unique position to provide a collection of real samples, thus guaranteeing an operational outcome, in accordance with the expectations of the law enforcement agencies.

We propose here to study and design simultaneously a materiel and a numerical model of the human head for ballistics experiments. The dummy head should give quantitative predictions about ballistic wounds whenever a real head suffer injury under the same experimental conditions. The application fields are war surgery, protection against ballistic hazard and forensic science. The experimented range will first be limited to handgun, and then extended to shotgun and rifles. The construction of a dummy head is the main goal of this study. It will partially find its base on the knowledge accumulated about mechanical characterization of bones. The physical study will be coupled with a numerical study of the proposed structure. A numerical dummy head would provide a powerful alternative to ballistic experiments. Coupled with the knowledge accumulated about rigid target, it could fully simulate some rather complex cases as encountered in the surgical and forensic field. The anatomical side of the study concerns the study of the traumas. Different medical imaging techniques will be experimented and compared. The last step of the study will be the constitution of a database of real cases investigated by the French National Forensic Institute (INPS). The simultaneous development of a physical and a numerical model is a strong scientific choice. We believe that it will demonstrate its usefulness to the community of specialist involved in the wound ballistic field.

The increasing occurrence, on the European market, of new uncontrolled drugs called New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) is an important threat for public health since they are popular in festive events where several consumers died following overdose. In this framework, it is essential to detect all the new synthetized NPS sold on the street market and/or on the internet. Among analytical techniques, high field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is a powerful tool, well recognized for elucidating molecular structures and quantifying them within mixtures. However, NMR is generally associated with heavy equipment, maintenance, and high operating costs. In contrast, benchtop NMR spectrometers are low cost, portable and offer an alternative for structure elucidation. Nevertheless major developments are required to make them applicable to the identification of NPS that could be either pure or embedded in mixtures with cutting agents and other NPS also able to have different isomers. The main objective of this project is to develop a new integrative analytical platform to identify NPS based on low field NMR. The second objective is to turn the new analytical platform into an every day’s life routine equipment for forensic laboratories. To reach this aim, there is an urgent need to develop new NMR techniques able to push the limits of NMR at low field through a better spectral resolution and an improved sensitivity. On the way to access the structure of NPS, it is essential to link analytical data and structure. Thus, the implementation of an NMR spectral prediction/recognition interface is required to validate the structure of NPS within seized samples. The developed interface will benefit from the contribution of theoretical modeling to predict NMR spectra as well as form the dedicated spectral databases for NPS. Then, different essential bricks of the new NPS integrative analytical platform will have to be combined and will include, i) new highly resolved and sensitive experiments implementable on a 1H, 13C benchtop spectrometer with a gradient coil, ii) a prediction/recognition NMR-based interface using databases and theoretical calculations and iii) other analytical methods like GC-MS and IR to improve and complete the structural elucidation of unknown NPS coming from seizures or sold on internet. Performances of the new developed interface will have to be optimized to make it robust for routine utility. Thus, different samples will have to be investigated with an increasing difficulty from pure NPS to mixtures either of NPS, or with cutting agents. The final step of the project is to ensure the transfer of the NPS analytical platform (methods and equipment) from CEISAM to INPS lab and to implement the new interface as a routine tool in the chemical division of the police department of the INPS forensic laboratory of Lyon.

After a gunshot on a crime scene, gunshot residues are projected on the target, and a distinct pattern around the bullet entrance hole may be observed by the police forensic . A careful analysis of this pattern is often carried in order to determine the position and the angle of the firearm. The police can also draw some conclusions about the nature of the firearm. This is a key element for the police investigation and future Justice decision. The gunshot residue pattern only can be observed on white targets. As a result, ballistic analysis can not be carried if the clothes of the victim are dark. The main goal of Syllabes project is to develop a new imaging device able to reveal gunshot residue patterns on every kind of clothes. This will be very helpful for the police in France and abroad. This project will also study the legal benefits of such a imaging device, as the Justice will be more confident about the gunshot residues pattern analysis. This visualization will be based on multispectral active imaging system. The idea is to illuminate the sample with a bunch of well determined wavelengths, and to realize the image of the sample with a broadband camera. One of the key element of the project is the determination of these wavelengths, in order to develop a device able to reveal the gunshot residues pattern on any kind of targets. This will be done by carrying a careful analysis of different representative samples, using a hyperspectral imaging system.This visualization process should be non intrusive, reliable ( low false alarm rate), fast and reproducible, whatever the illumination condition might be. The imaging device should be handy, easy to carry, useable in the lab and on a crime scene . INPS scientists will present their needs in ballistic imaging, describe the situation where the modern techniques are not successful and will realize representatives samples using different firearms, kind of tissues …:Criminology institute of Paris II will carry a careful analysis of the juridical impact of such a device: how can the judge can consider the ballistic expertise as a real proof, with and without the help of Syllabes device. Onera will realize hyperspectral images of the samples given by INPS, and perform further measurements and analyses in order to optimize the specification of Syllabes device. Onera will conduct an hyperspectral imaging analysis in order to select the appropriate wavelengths.Based on previous results, Exavision, a French SME will specify and develop the Syllabes device. The main challenge will be to identify and find the appropriate laser and detector to reach the required performances and to satisfy the needs of an ergonomic design. INPS will validate the concept and evaluate the operational improvements allowed by such a device. Onera will carry a complementary study in order to evaluate the capability of such a system to characterize a crime scene globally and to visualize gunshot residues and other interesting residues (drugs, biological traces… ) . Syllabes, a 28 months duration project, is a well-balanced and complementary consortium, gathering a dynamic and versed SME, a well-known and highly skilled research institutes for legal and scientific research and improvements and a deeply involved end-user which will bring its requirements and be able to orient and validate the research development.