Determining the relative age of blue ballpoint ink by gas chromatography

A method for identifying the writing age of blue ballpoint pen ink has been established due to the imperative demand in forensic laboratories. The content of the volatile components in blue ballpoint pen ink were determined by gas chromatography (GC). The absorbance of dye in blue ballpoint pen ink was measured by UV-Vis spectrometry A writing age curve of the ink was established using the ratio of the content of the volatile components to the dye, based on the identification of 74 kinds of blue ballpoint pen ink of domestic and international origins. The change of benzene alcohol or phenoxetol with the writing age was also tested. Different kinds of blue ballpoint pen ink were detected and the repeatability of the experiment was investigated. The results indicate that the method is reliable, sensitive, systematic and is especially suitable for practical use. __________ Translated from Chinese Journal of Chromatography, 2005 (3)(in Chinese)