ISU scientists are developing techniques to aid the nation’s battle to track the source of anthrax-laced letters by analyzing the paper and ink of the letters.

Ames Lab Associate Scientists John McClelland and Roger Jones began an 18-month project in August that is sponsored by a $160,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice. The project will look at ink and paper under infrared light, McClelland said.

The ISU Institute for Physical Research and Technology is a group of research and technology development centers that include the Ames Laboratory, the oldest and largest center.

“We got this funding before the current anthrax problems began,” McClelland said. “This is a unique technique that will improve upon the current processes used to analyze paper and ink in criminal cases.”

The current process used to analyze suspicious documents is called chromatography, he said. Through chromatography, scientists analyze ink that has been extracted from the paper, rather than analyzing the paper and ink itself, McClelland said.

The technique Jones and McClelland are developing will send an electronic, infrared signal through the paper and ink without extracting the ink from the paper. The instruments the scientists are using to analyze the samples are built at MTEC Photoacoustics, Inc., 3507 Oakland St., in Ames. McClelland said this process allows for less human interaction and a more thorough and useful analysis.

Various ink and paper absorb light differently when the electronic signal is sent through them, McClelland said. The process identifies the ink chemically, allowing forensic scientists to compare two or more samples and link cases. It cannot directly identify the person responsible, he said.

“The light absorption by the ink and paper is sort of like a fingerprint,” McClelland said. “They are all unique and differ slightly. We could put the information in a database to help scientists throughout the world. It wouldn’t be enough evidence to convict someone, but it would be great help as a small element in the bigger picture.”

If the ink or paper is rare and known to be manufactured in certain areas or foreign countries, then it will help investigators in criminal cases get a better idea of the organization or individuals behind the criminal activities, McClelland said.

Even if the paper and ink are available in mass quantities, the technology still can help investigators when they search suspects’ homes and find paper and pens that match the suspicious documents, he said.

Right now, the project is only funded to perform the ink and paper experiments. Jones said he hopes to receive further funding to expand the project to include several elements, including a nationwide database after the initial project is completed.

The database would store all the different types of ink and paper and would be available only to forensic laboratories, he said.

Jones said he considers this project phase one.

“We need more results before we can convince people we’re worthy of more funding to create a database and expand the project,” he said.