Revolutionary Chemical Detection Methods Transform India's Fight Against Explosive Threats

India.com

12-08-2025

Revolutionary Chemical Detection Methods Transform India's Fight Against Explosive Threats
Dr. Himali Upadhyay's supramolecular technology breakthrough offers field-ready solutions as forensic experts develop techniques for new criminal laws
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The All India Forensic Science Summit at the National Forensic Sciences University tackles a massive problem in the criminal justice system in India. This summit was organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which acknowledges that despite many initiatives, India continues to struggle with developing and standardising forensics infrastructure and, more broadly, using forensic evidence in courts of law. These specific challenges are raised in the conference: there is a pressing need for modern forensic approaches to terrorism investigations, and current detection methods and verification can be seen as inadequate procedures for the mobilised, quick, and accurate identification of threats required in the security states of today. Dr. Himali Upadhyay is the only academic who has advanced original supramolecular detection systems for explosives that give laboratory-level results in the field, that is suitable for the new forensic needs of India. Her Ph.D. research project synthesised new molecules in the express purpose of recognising explosive compounds by means of a targeted chemical interaction, thus making her the only academically and professionally qualified person to face the rapidly changing detection needs of India with proven, scientifically validated technology.
Traditional explosive detection methods have a fundamental limitation with dire implications in security situations: the impossible decision of choosing between accuracy and speed. Of course, laboratory-based methods, as a general family of methodologies, do yield trustworthy outcomes, but only over hours to days. Field tests cannot always provide the required accuracy to substantiate prosecution by the criminal justice system under India's new highly elevated criminal regulations.
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When Forensic teams are presented with suspicious materials, they must choose whether to trust forensic field tests, which are great at speed but not always completely accurate, or send the material to a laboratory for evidence and analysis, but risk arriving too late to prevent disastrous consequences.
'Conventional approaches frequently require the transport of samples to specialist laboratories, generating delays that can be disastrous in security situations,' says Dr. Upadhyay. 'The challenge for us is developing systems that can provide instant results while maintaining the accuracy we need for a defensible assessment of threats and admissibility in a court of law.'
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This detection gap is particularly troubling as terrorists' tactics diversify and India's legal framework raises the bar for admissible evidence. The summit's focus on developing 'advanced forensic techniques employed in the investigation of terrorism related crime' can address this urgent need.
Supramolecular chemistry provides an entirely new potential. It enables the engineer to design molecules that will recognize and bind to specific explosive compounds, and these supramolecular systems are sophisticated detection devices that will change their properties upon reacting with the target material.
Dr. Upadhyay's research has shown how these supramolecular systems perform reliably across various environmental and situational conditions; from urban to remote areas; with each compound detecting explosives regardless of the temperature and humidity. Her analyses demonstrate that molecular recognition with high fidelity can generate identification of explosive compounds, something that was only accessible in laboratories until now.
The leap that makes supramolecular chemistry so exciting is the selectivity of the designed molecules. Conventional detection strategies often led to false negatives, thus requiring intricate analyses; however, supramolecular systems will conclusively identify specific target compounds. This is especially important for evidentiary thresholds demonstrated in new criminal laws in India.
Her dissertation was widely regarded in the forensic science literature and included presentations at six major conferences to illustrate scientific credibility and support the viability of supramolecular systems for real-world security applications.
Dr. Upadhyay's molecular recognition framework is further validated by her recent success in obtaining government funding. Her annual USDA grant of $61,000 supports work unlike anything done anywhere in the world: developing comprehensive odour profiles for dogs to detect invasive species.
'We are identifying volatile organic compounds from snail mucus to develop the odour profile of giant African snails for training dogs,' Dr. Upadhyay states. 'This project is the first time that anyone has ever attempted comprehensive biological detection profiling and uses the same molecular identification principles used in my explosive detection work.'
Dr. Upadhyay works at Florida International University, which has moved up 84 spots in public university rankings in the past ten years. The university's rapid rise provides her with excellent access to cutting-edge facilities that allow for high-level analytical work and to collaborators and resources that expand her research capabilities.
New forensic technologies require effective training in order to gain acceptance in the courtroom. A successful training program should cover how the technology works and how to interpret the results, including how the results can be incorporated into existing practices. All three aspects will also help to ensure that practitioners are using the technology in a correct manner that is consistent with the practices and objectives of India's criminal laws.
Like the training mentioned above, modules for quality control and standardising the supramolecular detection process are necessary to ensure proper evidence of quality and admissibility. Dr. Upadhyay's supramolecular detection is the operational technological foundation for law enforcement agencies to assign to crime scene detection situations, represented in crime scenes and for national security goals.