TY - JOUR
T1 - Shedding new light on forensic timelines
AU - O'Connor, Maggie
AU - Jansen, Kiana
AU - Hodge, Joseph
AU - O'Brien, Christine
AU - Pence, Isaac
AU - Mahadevan-Jansen, Anita
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Advanstar Communications, Inc.
PY - 2016/9
Y1 - 2016/9
N2 - The development of novel, nondestructive technologies for rapid analysis of evidence discovered at crime scenes is pertinent to our criminal justice system to solve the millions of violent crimes that occur each year. Without a witness, establishing the precise timeline of a crime is difficult. Therefore, technologies based on sensitive, nondestructive techniques are needed to evaluate evidence and create such a timeline. We propose the use of Raman spectroscopy to analyze the age of bloodstains for potential use as a forensics tool. Previous studies have revealed Raman spectroscopy is sensitive to changes in blood analyte concentration and different oxidative states of hemoglobin. Raman spectroscopy could allow for rapid comparison of spectra from bloodstains of unknown age to spectra of known age with high temporal accuracy. Though further investigation into other substrates and biochemical components should be performed, our study reveals Raman spectroscopy has the potential to accurately and nondestructively determine the age of a bloodstain for use in criminal investigations.
AB - The development of novel, nondestructive technologies for rapid analysis of evidence discovered at crime scenes is pertinent to our criminal justice system to solve the millions of violent crimes that occur each year. Without a witness, establishing the precise timeline of a crime is difficult. Therefore, technologies based on sensitive, nondestructive techniques are needed to evaluate evidence and create such a timeline. We propose the use of Raman spectroscopy to analyze the age of bloodstains for potential use as a forensics tool. Previous studies have revealed Raman spectroscopy is sensitive to changes in blood analyte concentration and different oxidative states of hemoglobin. Raman spectroscopy could allow for rapid comparison of spectra from bloodstains of unknown age to spectra of known age with high temporal accuracy. Though further investigation into other substrates and biochemical components should be performed, our study reveals Raman spectroscopy has the potential to accurately and nondestructively determine the age of a bloodstain for use in criminal investigations.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84989925919&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84989925919
SN - 0887-6703
VL - 31
SP - 40
EP - 45
JO - Spectroscopy (Santa Monica)
JF - Spectroscopy (Santa Monica)
IS - 9
ER -