Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Mohamed O. Amin, Entesar Al-Hetlani, Igor K. Lednev
Summary: Fingermark analysis is a key tool in criminal investigation, and the biochemical composition of FMs has attracted considerable attention as a vital source of forensic evidence. Vibrational spectroscopy is used to better understand the chemistry of latent FMs and improve detection methods. The article critically reviews the advances in FM analysis using vibrational spectroscopic techniques over the past 10 years, highlighting current limitations and discussing ways to overcome them to support the development of FM analysis techniques meeting modern forensic science requirements.
TRAC-TRENDS IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Legal
R. Austin Hicklin, Kevin R. Winer, Paul E. Kish, Connie L. Parks, William Chapman, Kensley Dunagan, Nicole Richetelli, Eric G. Epstein, Madeline A. Ausdemore, Thomas A. Busey
Summary: The study found that conclusions made by bloodstain pattern analysts were often erroneous and contradicted other analysts. In samples with known causes, 11.2% of responses were erroneous and 7.8% contradicted other analysts. Disagreements in BPA terminology and classifications suggest a need for improved standards.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Astrid Winnepenninckx, Elke Verhoeven, Steve Vermeulen, Bram Bekaert
Summary: Infrared photography is an effective method for detecting latent bloodstains on various materials, especially fabrics. However, it is not as effective on materials such as leather, tiles, and wood. Additionally, the time of bloodstain deposition does not significantly affect the ability of infrared and visual light to detect latent bloodstains.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Hongxia He, Qingxia Zhang, Qing Niu, Yeming Li, Qifan Sun, Dong Zhao
Summary: The estimation of bloodstain formation time is still a problem in forensic science. This study successfully established a triple quantification method based on mtDNA fragment ratio to estimate bloodstain formation time, which has high human specificity.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Tae Moo Heo, Sun-Yeong Gwon, Jung-Hyeon Yang, Sung Hee Hyun, Hee-Gyoo Kang, Ho Joong Sung
Summary: In this study, a novel marker, hemoglobin subunit beta protein, was identified as an internal standard for determining the age of bloodstains at crime scenes. The expression levels of the protein were found to gradually increase in two-dimensional electrophoresis under specific environmental conditions, indicating its potential use in age determination of bloodstains.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Mohammad Amin Hosseini, Hamidreza Zare, Shahryar Malekie
Summary: This experimental work investigated the dosimetry characteristics of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) using Raman spectroscopy. The study examined the linearity, repeatability, and long-term stability of the dosimeter, and analyzed changes in atomic and molecular structures at various absorbed doses. The results showed that Raman spectroscopy is a quick and effective method for measuring the dosimeter response, and it is recommended to further study the fading effect at different time intervals.
RADIATION PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Tanurup Das, Annapoorni Ammal, Abhimanyu Harshey, Vindresh Mishra, Ankit Srivastava
Summary: Semen is a critical body fluid in sexual assaults, and vibrational spectroscopy has emerged as a valuable tool for its analysis, but practical limitations still exist. Research has focused on identifying, discriminating, and estimating timing since deposition of semen.
MICROCHEMICAL JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Juliana Melo Duarte, Nadia Gabrielle Silva Sales, Jez Willian Batista Braga, Candice Bridge, Mark Maric, Marcelo Henrique Sousa, Juliano de Andrade Gomes
Summary: The aim of this study was to develop a methodology to distinguish automotive paint samples based on the make of the vehicle and its color shade. In-situ analysis of 143 white samples was conducted using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and coupled microscopy. Principal component analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis were used for data analysis, resulting in high classification accuracy.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Huiyu Li, Chen Shen, Gongji Wang, Qinru Sun, Kai Yu, Zefeng Li, XingGong Liang, Run Chen, Hao Wu, Fan Wang, Zhenyuan Wang, Chunfeng Lian
Summary: This paper introduces a practical deep learning-based method called BloodNet, which can efficiently and accurately infer the time of bloodstain formation using easily accessible bloodstain photos. By utilizing a large-scale database and attention mechanisms, BloodNet can learn highly discriminative fine-grained features of bloodstains with different formation times, demonstrating the efficacy of deep learning techniques in TSD inference.
BRIEFINGS IN BIOINFORMATICS
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Huiyu Li, Chen Shen, Gongji Wang, Qinru Sun, Kai Yu, Zefeng Li, XingGong Liang, Run Chen, Hao Wu, Fan Wang, Zhenyuan Wang, Chunfeng Lian
Summary: This paper introduces a deep learning-based method (BloodNet) that can efficiently, accurately, and costlessly infer the time of bloodstain formation by using easily accessible bloodstain photos. The study utilizes a large-scale bloodstain photo database and attention mechanisms to learn discriminative fine-grained feature representations for different time periods. The efficacy of deep learning techniques in bloodstain time inference is further justified through visual analysis and microscopic analysis.
BRIEFINGS IN BIOINFORMATICS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Seungyeon Lee, Sora Mun, You-Rim Lee, Jiyeong Lee, Hee-Gyoo Kang
Summary: This study quantitatively analyzed the presence of ergothioneine in bloodstains and found that it can be used to estimate the age of bloodstains and the age of the bloodstain donors. The findings suggest that ergothioneine could potentially serve as a marker in reconstructing crime scenes.
Article
Medicine, Legal
Makenzie Kuehn, Kevin Bates, J. Tyler Davidson, Geraldine Monjardez
Summary: The detection of intact explosives in the field is a unique challenge, and handheld Raman instruments have become popular for their speed, reliability, and portability. However, there is limited research on the detection capabilities of these instruments for explosive compounds. This study evaluated the detection capabilities of two handheld Raman spectrometers and investigated interference from glass and plastic containers. The results showed reproducible spectra for all analytes across both instruments, with the Rigaku ResQ-CQL displaying better resolution.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Marta Gladysz, Malgorzata Krol, Pawel Koscielniak
Summary: This review presents methods of lipstick examination for forensic purposes, discussing non-destructive and destructive methods of lipstick analyses. It also covers the direct analysis of lipstick traces left on various surfaces at a crime scene, and explores the effects of different surfaces and factors like smoking and drinking on the chemical composition of lipsticks. Ultimately, the methodologies presented have the potential for application in a comparative analysis of lipstick traces for forensic purposes.
MICROCHEMICAL JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Hirijete Idrizi, Metodija Najdoski, Igor Kuzmanovski
Summary: Soil, due to its transferability, is commonly used as evidence in criminal investigations. In this study, urban soil samples from five parks were analyzed using infrared spectroscopy. The development of classification models based on supervised self-organizing maps, with the use of genetic algorithms, successfully predicted and classified the samples from different locations. The results also showed the influence of weather and seasonal changes on soil composition.
JOURNAL OF CHEMOMETRICS
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Arya Suresh Babu, Anjali Tomar, Shweta Sharma
Summary: This study explores the existing trends in examining the sequence of ink strokes using vibrational spectroscopic techniques (infrared and Raman spectroscopy) and proposes future research directions in this field. The findings suggest that factors like paper type and time gap between strokes do not affect the determination of stroke sequence. The use of multiple analytical techniques in combination with vibrational spectroscopic techniques can provide reliable results.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Instruments & Instrumentation
Marisia A. Fikiet, David Tuschel, Vladimir V. Ermolenkov, Igor K. Lednev
APPLIED SPECTROSCOPY
(2020)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Entesar Al-Hetlani, Lenka Halamkova, Mohamed O. Amin, Igor K. Lednev
JOURNAL OF BIOPHOTONICS
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Taylor Casey, Ewelina Mistek, Lenka Halamkova, Igor K. Lednev
VIBRATIONAL SPECTROSCOPY
(2020)
Article
Biology
Zbynek Rocek, Lenka Halamkova, Paula Muzzopappa
Summary: The available fossil record of Bombina suggests that the genus appeared at the beginning of the Miocene. Fossils of B. variegata from the Early Pleistocene show slight skeletal developmental retardation compared to B. bombina, indicating differentiation before the Middle Pleistocene continental glaciations. This developmental retardation leads to the emergence of differential characteristics, more noticeable in fully grown adults.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ewelina Mistek-Morabito, Igor K. Lednev
COMMUNICATIONS CHEMISTRY
(2020)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Ewelina Mistek-Morabito, Igor K. Lednev
Summary: This study successfully differentiated menstrual and peripheral bloodstains using ATR FT-IR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics, achieving excellent separation in internal validation and 100% accuracy in external validation.
ANALYTICAL AND BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Spectroscopy
Elena Ryzhikova, Nicole M. Ralbovsky, Vitali Sikirzhytski, Oleksandr Kazakov, Lenka Halamkova, Joseph Quinn, Earl A. Zimmerman, Igor K. Lednev
Summary: The current diagnostics for Alzheimer's disease relies on clinical assessments, imaging, and neuropsychological tests which are only efficient in the advanced stages of the disease. Early diagnosis of AD is crucial for preventive treatment and disease-modifying drug development. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is the most promising body fluid for AD diagnostic test development due to its reflective changes associated with the disease. The novel method using NIR Raman spectroscopy combined with machine learning analysis shows potential for early AD detection with high sensitivity and specificity.
SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA PART A-MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alexis Weber, Anna Wojtowicz, Igor K. Lednev
Summary: Blood is a common body fluid found at crime scenes, allowing for identification and determination of the time since deposition (TSD); understanding the biochemical mechanisms of blood aging is crucial for forensic investigations; this study investigated the fluorescence properties of peripheral and menstrual blood over 24 hours post deposition using steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy.
JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY B-BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Shelby R. Khandasammy, Nathan R. Bartlett, Lenka Halamkova, Igor K. Lednev
Summary: Gunshot residue (GSR) is an important forensic trace evidence and inorganic GSR particles are currently used to establish the fact of shooting. However, recent research has shown that organic GSR (OGSR) has great potential in providing additional information for crime scene investigation. This study used Raman spectroscopy and chemometric modeling to analyze smokeless powder, which is the precursor to OGSR. The proposed hierarchical model demonstrated the potential to determine the manufacture and bullet type based on smokeless powder analysis. Further research is needed to expand this approach to the analysis of OGSR and make it a useful tool for law enforcement agencies.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Mindy Greco, Morgan Eldridge, Emilynn Banks, Lenka Halamkova, Jan Halamek
Summary: This study aims to prove that monitoring the concentrations of metabolites in sweat can differentiate individuals and provide investigators with a means of individualizing biological samples. A technique was developed to collect and analyze sweat samples from three female volunteers. The results showed that the sum of the metabolites could differentiate each individual at any given day. This study is important for the development of biometric identification methods.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Bhavik Vyas, Lenka Halamkova, Igor K. Lednev
FORENSIC CHEMISTRY
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Alexis R. Weber, Igor K. Lednev
FORENSIC CHEMISTRY
(2020)