Analytical techniques used to evaluate evidence. Reproduced from ref. 11 with permission from Springer Nature, Copyright 2014.
| General technique type . | Examples . |
|---|---|
| Microscopic analysis | Atomic force microscopy (AFM) |
| Optical microscopy | |
| Polarized light microscopy (PLM) | |
| Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) | |
| Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) | |
| Elemental analysis | Atomic absorption (AA) and atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) |
| X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy | |
| Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) | |
| Inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) | |
| Laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) | |
| Neutron activation analysis (NAA) | |
| Mass spectrometry | Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI) |
| Direct analysis in real-time mass spectrometry (DART) | |
| Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) | |
| Isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) | |
| Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-light mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) | |
| Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) | |
| Molecular spectroscopy | Fluorescence spectroscopy |
| Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) | |
| Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) | |
| Raman spectroscopy | |
| Ultraviolet/visible spectroscopy (UV/Vis) | |
| X-ray diffraction (XRD) | |
| Separation techniques | Capillary electrophoresis (CE) |
| Gas chromatography (GC) | |
| Ion chromatography (IC) | |
| Liquid chromatography (LC) | |
| Paper chromatography | |
| Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) | |
| Thermal analysis | Differential thermal analysis (DTA) |
| Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) | |
| Pyrolysis gas chromatography (PGC) | |
| Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) |
| General technique type . | Examples . |
|---|---|
| Microscopic analysis | Atomic force microscopy (AFM) |
| Optical microscopy | |
| Polarized light microscopy (PLM) | |
| Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) | |
| Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) | |
| Elemental analysis | Atomic absorption (AA) and atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) |
| X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy | |
| Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) | |
| Inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) | |
| Laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) | |
| Neutron activation analysis (NAA) | |
| Mass spectrometry | Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI) |
| Direct analysis in real-time mass spectrometry (DART) | |
| Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) | |
| Isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) | |
| Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-light mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) | |
| Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) | |
| Molecular spectroscopy | Fluorescence spectroscopy |
| Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) | |
| Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) | |
| Raman spectroscopy | |
| Ultraviolet/visible spectroscopy (UV/Vis) | |
| X-ray diffraction (XRD) | |
| Separation techniques | Capillary electrophoresis (CE) |
| Gas chromatography (GC) | |
| Ion chromatography (IC) | |
| Liquid chromatography (LC) | |
| Paper chromatography | |
| Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) | |
| Thermal analysis | Differential thermal analysis (DTA) |
| Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) | |
| Pyrolysis gas chromatography (PGC) | |
| Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) |