Baechler, S, Morelato, M, Ribaux, O, Beavis, A, Tahtouh, M, Kirkbride, KP, Esseiva, P, Margot, P & Roux, C 2015, 'Forensic intelligence framework. Part II: Study of the main generic building blocks and challenges through the examples of illicit drugs and false identity documents monitoring', FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL, vol. 250, pp. 44-52.
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© 2015. The development of forensic intelligence relies on the expression of suitable models that better represent the contribution of forensic intelligence in relation to the criminal justice system, policing and security. Such models assist in comparing and evaluating methods and new technologies, provide transparency and foster the development of new applications. Interestingly, strong similarities between two separate projects focusing on specific forensic science areas were recently observed. These observations have led to the induction of a general model (Part I) that could guide the use of any forensic science case data in an intelligence perspective. The present article builds upon this general approach by focusing on decisional and organisational issues. The article investigates the comparison process and evaluation system that lay at the heart of the forensic intelligence framework, advocating scientific decision criteria and a structured but flexible and dynamic architecture. These building blocks are crucial and clearly lay within the expertise of forensic scientists. However, it is only part of the problem. Forensic intelligence includes other blocks with their respective interactions, decision points and tensions (e.g. regarding how to guide detection and how to integrate forensic information with other information). Formalising these blocks identifies many questions and potential answers. Addressing these questions is essential for the progress of the discipline. Such a process requires clarifying the role and place of the forensic scientist within the whole process and their relationship to other stakeholders.
Brayley-Morris, H, Sorrell, A, Revoir, AP, Meakin, GE, Court, DS & Morgan, RM 2015, 'Persistence of DNA from laundered semen stains: Implications for child sex trafficking cases', Forensic Science International: Genetics, vol. 19, pp. 165-171.
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Carroll, L, Pattison, DI, Fu, S, Schiesser, CH, Davies, MJ & Hawkins, CL 2015, 'Reactivity of selenium-containing compounds with myeloperoxidase-derived chlorinating oxidants: Second-order rate constants and implications for biological damage', FREE RADICAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE, vol. 84, pp. 279-288.
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© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and N-chloramines are produced by myeloperoxidase (MPO) as part of the immune response to destroy invading pathogens. However, MPO also plays a detrimental role in inflammatory pathologies, including atherosclerosis, as inappropriate production of oxidants, including HOCl and N-chloramines, causes damage to host tissue. Low molecular mass thiol compounds, including glutathione (GSH) and methionine (Met), have demonstrated efficacy in scavenging MPO-derived oxidants, which prevents oxidative damage in vitro and ex vivo. Selenium species typically have greater reactivity toward oxidants compared to the analogous sulfur compounds, and are known to be efficient scavengers of HOCl and other hypohalous acids produced by MPO. In this study, we examined the efficacy of a number of sulfur and selenium compounds to scavenge a range of biologically relevant N-chloramines and oxidants produced by both isolated MPO and activated neutrophils and characterized the resulting selenium-derived oxidation products in each case. A dose-dependent decrease in the concentration of each N-chloramine was observed on addition of the sulfur compounds (cysteine, methionine) and selenium compounds (selenomethionine, methylselenocysteine, 1,4-anhydro-4-seleno-L-talitol, 1,5-anhydro-5-selenogulitol) studied. In general, selenomethionine was the most reactive with N-chloramines (k2 0.8-3.4×103 M-1 s-1) with 1,5-anhydro-5-selenogulitol and 1,4-anhydro-4-seleno-L-talitol (k2 1.1-6.8×102 M-1 s-1) showing lower reactivity. This resulted in the formation of the respective selenoxides as the primary oxidation products. The selenium compounds demonstrated greater ability to remove protein N-chloramines compared to the analogous sulfur compounds. These reactions may have implications for preventing cellular damage in vivo, particularly under...
Crispino, F, Rossy, Q, Ribaux, O & Roux, C 2015, 'Education and training in forensic intelligence: a new challenge', AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 49-60.
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From recent calls for positioning forensic scientists within the criminal justice system, but also policing and intelligence missions, this paper emphasises the need for the development of educational and training programmes in the area of forensic intelligence. It is argued that an imbalance exists between perceived and actual understanding of forensic intelligence by police and forensic science managers, and that this imbalance can only be overcome through education. The challenge forforensic intelligence education and training is therefore to devise programmes that increase forensic intelligence awareness, firstly for managers to help prevent poor decisions on how to develop information processing. Two recent European courses are presented as examples of education offerings, along with lessons learned and suggested paths forward. It is concluded that the new focus on forensic intelligence could restore a pro-active approach to forensic science, better quantify its efficiency and let it get more involved in investigative and managerial decisions. A new educational challenge is opened to forensic science university programmes around theworld: to refocus criminal trace analysis on a more holistic security problem solving approach.
Daniel, R, Santos, C, Phillips, C, Fondevila, M, van Oorschot, RAH, Carracedo, A, Lareu, MV & McNevin, D 2015, 'A SNaPshot of next generation sequencing for forensic SNP analysis', FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL-GENETICS, vol. 14, pp. 50-60.
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Forensic phenotyping can provide useful intelligence regarding the biogeographical ancestry (BGA) and externally visible characteristics (EVCs) of the donor of an evidentiary sample. Currently, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) based inference of BGA and EVCs is performed most commonly using SNaPshot(®), a single base extension (SBE) assay. However, a single SNaPshot multiplex PCR is limited to 30-40 SNPs. Next generation sequencing (NGS) offers the potential to genotype hundreds to thousands of SNPs from multiple samples in a single experimental run. The PCR multiplexes from five SNaPshot assays (SNPforID 52plex, SNPforID 34plex, Eurasiaplex, IrisPlex and an unpublished BGA assay) were applied to three different DNA template amounts (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 ng) in three samples (9947A and 007 control DNAs and a male donor). The pooled PCR amplicons containing 136 unique SNPs were sequenced using Life Technologies' Ion Torrent™ PGM system. Approximately 72 Mb of sequence was generated from two 10 Mb Ion 314™ v1 chips. Accurate genotypes were readily obtained from all three template amounts. Of a total of 408 genotypes, 395 (97%) were fully concordant with SNaPshot across all three template amounts. Of those genotypes discordant with SNaPshot, six Ion Torrent sequences (1.5%) were fully concordant with Sanger sequencing across the three template amounts. Seven SNPs (1.7%) were either discordant between template amounts or discordant with Sanger sequencing. Sequence coverage observed in the negative control, and, allele coverage variation for heterozygous genotypes highlights the need to establish a threshold for background levels of sequence output and heterozygous balance. This preliminary study of the Ion Torrent PGM system has demonstrated considerable potential for use in forensic DNA analyses as a low to medium throughput NGS platform using established SNaPshot assays.
de la Hunty, M, Moret, S, Chadwick, S, Lennard, C, Spindler, X & Roux, C 2015, 'Understanding physical developer (PD): Part I - Is PD targeting lipids?', FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL, vol. 257, pp. 481-487.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Physical developer (PD) is a fingermark development technique that involves the selective reduction of silver onto fingermark residue. PD can develop marks on porous substrates even if they have been wet, leading to the logical, long held belief that the reagent targets the water insoluble constituents in the fingermark residue. The present research has tested this hypothesis as part of a broader study that aims to identify the targets of physical developer. Spot tests of some fatty acids, cholesterol and squalene, treated with PD, showed that only cholesterol produced significant silver deposition. PD is known to be particularly effective on aged marks, however cholesterol degrades over time. These observations indicate that PD reactivity with fingermarks cannot solely be due to the presence of cholesterol.Fingermarks were deposited on paper and washed with various organic solvents before being treated with PD. PD effectiveness was intermittent on both solvent washed and unwashed sides of both natural and groomed marks; however, it was seen to effectively develop groomed samples that had been exposed to common lipid extraction solvents, shown to have removed the lipids by visualisation using the lipid stain Nile red. PD effectiveness was most affected by exposure of samples to solvents that could dissolve water soluble components, showing that the removal of these constituents (by either water, or other solvents) decreases the amount of silver deposited on the fingermark residue by the working solution.Close observation of PD developed samples showed variation in silver deposition uniformity when comparing a developed ridge to a pore site located on that ridge. Some samples showed an absence of silver, and other showed an increase of silver at pore locations. This indicates that the material excreted by the pores on the finger has an effect on silver deposition, suggesting that PD may be specifically targeting eccrine const...
de la Hunty, M, Moret, S, Chadwick, S, Lennard, C, Spindler, X & Roux, C 2015, 'Understanding Physical Developer (PD): Part II - Is PD targeting eccrine constituents?', FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL, vol. 257, pp. 488-495.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Physical developer (PD) is a fingermark development technique that deposits silver onto fingermark ridges. It is the only technique currently in routine operational use that gives results on porous substrates that have been wet. There is a reasonable understanding of the working solution chemistry, but the chemical constituent(s) contained in fingermark residue that are specifically targeted by PD are largely unknown. A better understanding of the PD technique will permit a more informed selection of alternative or complementary detection methods, and greater usage in operational laboratories. Recent research by our group has shown that PD does not selectively target the lipids present in the residue.This research investigated the hypothesis that PD targets the eccrine constituents in fingermark residue. This was tested by comparison of PD and indanedione-zinc (Ind-Zn) treated natural fingermarks that had been deposited successively, and marks that had been deposited with a ten second interval in between depositions. Such an interval allows for the regeneration of secretions from the pores located on the ridges of the fingers. On fingermark depletions with no time interval between depositions, PD and Ind-Zn treated depletions successively (and comparatively) decreased in development intensity as the amount of residue diminished. Short time intervals in between successive depletions resulted in additional secretions from the pores intermittently occurring, the increased development of which was visualised by treatment with both PD and Ind-Zn. The changes in development intensity were seen with both techniques on the same split depletions in a series, comparably and proportionately. These results indicate that the components targeted by PD are contained in the material excreted by the friction ridge pores through its mirrored development with Ind-Zn.Repetition of the experiments on marks that only contained eccrine material sh...
Fotheringham, I, Meakin, G, Punekar, Y, Riley, J, Cockle, S & Singh, S 2015, 'Comparison of laboratory- and field-based exercise tests for COPD: a systematic review', International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, vol. 10, pp. 625-625.
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Exercise tests are often used to evaluate the functional status of patients with COPD. However, to the best of our knowledge, a comprehensive systematic comparison of these tests has not been performed. We systematically reviewed studies reporting the repeatability and/or reproducibility of these tests, and studies comparing their sensitivity to therapeutic intervention. A systematic review identified primary manuscripts in English reporting relevant data on the following exercise tests: 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and 12-minute walk test, incremental and endurance shuttle walk tests (ISWT and ESWT, respectively), incremental and endurance cycle ergometer tests, and incremental and endurance treadmill tests. We identified 71 relevant studies. Good repeatability (for the 6MWT and ESWT) and reproducibility (for the 6MWT, 12-minute walk test, ISWT, ESWT, and incremental cycle ergometer test) were reported by most studies assessing these tests, providing patients were familiarized with them beforehand. The 6MWT, ISWT, and particularly the ESWT were reported to be sensitive to therapeutic intervention. Protocol variations (eg, track layout or supplemental oxygen use) affected performance significantly in several studies. This review shows that while the validity of several tests has been established, for others further study is required. Future work will assess the link between these tests, physiological mechanisms, and patient-reported measures.
Girod, A, Xiao, L, Reedy, B, Roux, C & Weyermann, C 2015, 'Fingermark initial composition and aging using Fourier transform infrared microscopy (mu-FTIR)', FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL, vol. 254, pp. 185-196.
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Jackson, F, Bunford, J, Maynard, P & Roux, C 2015, 'Corrigendum to “Surveys of vehicle colour frequency and the transfer of vehicle paints to stationary objects in Sydney, Australia” [Forensic Sci. Int. 248 (2015) 124–128]', Forensic Science International, vol. 251, pp. 115-115.
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Jackson, F, Bunford, J, Maynard, P & Roux, C 2015, 'Surveys of vehicle colour frequency and the transfer of vehicle paints to stationary objects in Sydney, Australia', Forensic Science International, vol. 248, pp. 124-128.
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Kuzhiumparambil, U, Watanabe, S & Fu, S 2015, 'Oxidation of testosterone by permanganate and its implication in sports drug testing', NEW JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 1597-1602.
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© The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 2015. Manipulations of urine samples by urine substitution, urine dilution, and urine adulteration with highly oxidative chemicals to escape detection in doping control analysis have been reported in the past. Adulteration of urine with oxidising chemicals such as potassium permanganate, cerium ammonium nitrate, pyridinium chlorochromate etc. can lead to considerable changes in the endogenous steroidal profile parameters and thus mask the abnormality in the steroidal profile following steroid abuse. In this study we have identified the formation of two stable oxidation products upon reaction of potassium permanganate with testosterone, an important endogenous urinary steroid. Isolation and characterisation of these oxidation products were performed using chromatography and spectroscopy and the products were elucidated as 4α,5α-dihydroxytestosterone and 4β,5β-dihydroxytestosterone. Formation of these two molecules in human urine after adulteration with potassium permanganate has been demonstrated by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. The products 4α,5α-dihydroxytestosterone and 4β,5β-dihydroxytestosterone have not been previously reported in urine and hence have the potential to be included in the routine drug testing program for monitoring possible testosterone abuse and permanganate adulteration of urine.
Luong, S, Kuzhiumparambil, U & Fu, S 2015, 'Elucidation of markers for monitoring morphine and its analogs in urine adulterated with pyridinium chlorochromate', BIOANALYSIS, vol. 7, no. 18, pp. 2283-2295.
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Currently, procedures that identify the drugs 'destroyed' in adulterated urine specimens are very limited. This study aimed to determine the effect of pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC) on routine opiate assays and identify reaction products formed. Results/methodology: Opiate-positive urines adulterated with PCC (20 and 100 mM) were analyzed using CEDIA(®) immunoassay and GC-MS. Urine and water samples spiked with 6-monoacetylmorphine, morphine and its glucuronides (10 µg/ml) and PCC (0.02-100 mM) were monitored with LC-MS, and the products characterized.PCC significantly decreased the abundance of morphine, codeine and IS. Adulterated water and urine samples containing 6-monoacetylmorphine, morphine and morphine-3-glucuronide yielded morphinone-3-glucuronide, 7,14-dihydroxy-6-monoacetylmorphine, 7,8-diketo-6-monoacetylmorphine and 7,8-diketo-morphine (tentative assignment). Reaction pathways may be different in the two matrices.
McNevin, D, Edson, J, Robertson, J & Austin, JJ 2015, 'Reduced reaction volumes and increased Taq DNA polymerase concentration improve STR profiling outcomes from a real-world low template DNA source: telogen hairs', Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 326-338.
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PURPOSE: The primary method for analysis of low template DNA (LTDNA) is known as the low copy number (LCN) method involving an increased number of PCR cycles (typically 34). In common with other LTDNA methods, LCN profiles are characterized by allelic imbalance, drop in, and drop out that require complicated interpretation rules. They often require replicate PCR reactions to generate a 'consensus' profile in a specialized facility. An ideal method for analysis of LTDNA should enhance profiling outcomes without elevated error rates and be performed using standard facilities, with minimum additional cost. METHODS: In this study, we present a comparison of four method variations for the amplification of STRs from LTDNA with a widely used, commercially available kit (AmpFℓSTR(®) Profiler Plus(®)): the standard method, the standard method with a post-PCR clean up, the LCN method, and a reduced reaction volume with increased Taq DNA polymerase concentration. RESULTS: Using telogen hairs-a common source of LTDNA-and matched reference DNA, the LCN method produced the highest number of concordant and non-concordant (i.e., dropped-in) alleles. In comparison, the reduced reaction volume with increased Taq polymerase yielded more full and concordant DNA profiles (all alleles combined) and less off-ladder alleles from a broad range of input DNA. In addition, this method resulted in less non-concordant alleles than LCN and no more than for standard PCR, which suggests that it may be preferred over increased PCR cycles for LTDNA analysis, either with or without consensus profiling and statistical modelling. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this study highlights the importance and benefit of optimizing PCR conditions and developing improved laboratory methods to amplify and analyze LTDNA.
Meakin, GE, Butcher, EV, van Oorschot, RAH & Morgan, RM 2015, 'The deposition and persistence of indirectly-transferred DNA on regularly-used knives', Forensic Science International: Genetics Supplement Series, vol. 5, pp. e498-e500.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd Considerations concerning how DNA recovered from a crime scene was deposited are of increasing significance to forensic casework. While the possibility of indirect DNA transfer is well established, research into such transfer is limited and focused mainly on the handling of DNA-free items. This study investigated whether secondarily-transferred DNA can be detected on regularly-used items, and if so, for how long might it persist. Volunteers each used a set of knives regularly over a period of two days, after which, each of these ‘regular users’ shook hands with another person (‘handshaker’) and then immediately, without touching anything else, repeatedly stabbed one of their own regularly-used knives into foam for 60 s. DNA was recovered from the knife handles using mini-tapes approximately one hour, one day, and one week after the stabbings. In three of the four pairings of volunteers, complete and partial DNA profiles matching those of the regular user and handshaker respectively, at ratios of ∼10:1, were recovered from the knives within one hour. Alleles attributed to the handshaker were still detected after one week, but were significantly reduced in number and peak height for two of the three pairings. Unknown alleles were also recovered from the knives, suggesting other indirect DNA transfer events. These included repeated detection of alleles attributed to the DNA profile of a volunteer's partner. For the fourth pairing, only complete single-source DNA profiles matching the regular user's profile were recovered. This study demonstrates that, on regularly-used items, secondarily-transferred DNA can be detected and can persist for at least a week; this has implications for forensic reconstructions.
Morelato, M, Beavis, A, Tahtouh, M, Ribaux, O, Kirkbride, KP & Roux, C 2015, 'The use of methylamphetamine chemical profiling in an intelligence-led perspective and the observation of inhomogeneity within seizures', FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL, vol. 246, pp. 55-64.
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© 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. This study focuses on methylamphetamine (MA) seizures made by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to investigate the use of chemical profiling in an intelligence perspective. Correlation coefficients were used to obtain a similarity degree between a population of linked samples and a population of unlinked samples. Although it was demonstrated that a general framework can be followed for the use of any forensic case data in an intelligence-led perspective, threshold values have to be re-evaluated for each type of illicit drug investigated. Unlike the results obtained in a previous study on 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA) seizures, chemical profiles of MA samples coming from the same seizure showed relative inhomogeneity, limiting their ability to link seizures. Different hypotheses were investigated to obtain a better understanding of this inhomogeneity although no trend was observed. These findings raise an interesting discussion in regards to the homogeneity and representativeness of illicit drug seizures (for intelligence purposes). Further, it also provides some grounds to discuss the initial hypotheses and assumptions that most forensic science studies are based on.
Moret, S, Spindler, X, Lennard, C & Roux, C 2015, 'Microscopic examination of fingermark residues: Opportunities for fundamental studies', FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL, vol. 255, pp. 28-37.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Despite significant ongoing research, a substantial proportion of latent fingermarks remain undetected in casework. Therefore, to improve existing detection techniques and to allow the development of new approaches, it is important to gain a better understanding of detection mechanisms rather than solely focusing on method formulations. As a starting point, it is crucial to gain a deeper understanding of the fingermark residue itself. Even if the chemical composition is reasonably well understood, little research has been reported on the physical aspects related to the deposition of fingermarks and their interactions with the environment and underlying substrates.This study aimed at exploring various techniques that can be used for the non-destructive visualisation of fingermarks before applying detection techniques. Both light and electron microscopy were investigated. Phase contrast imaging and environmental scanning electron microscopy, coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry, proved to be essential tools for the study of latent fingermark deposits. These methods can be used to gather fundamental information that will add to our body of knowledge in this field.
Pasin, D, Bidny, S & Fu, S 2015, 'Analysis of New Designer Drugs in Post-Mortem Blood Using High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry', JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL TOXICOLOGY, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 163-171.
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Ribaux, O, Crispino, F & Roux, C 2015, 'Forensic intelligence: deregulation or return to the roots of forensic science?', AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 61-71.
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This paper presents an overview of forensic intelligence through historical, operational and academic considerations. While forensic intelligence is thriving through new traceability of human activities, theoretical developments in policing and innovative technologies, it should mainly be seen as an opportunity for forensic science to contribute to making policing more` scientific in the broad sense. This paper supports the development of a modern framework to holistically use the information conveyed by forensic case data to inform policing processes, support decision-making and ensure transparency. It is argued that the scientific information, the trace, has to be privileged, rather than rejected from current debates, despite the potential fears prompted by the misinterpretation of the term `intelligence. Ulti- mately, forensic intelligence enables the emergence of a modern conception of forensic science.
Roux, C, Talbot-Wright, B, Robertson, J, Crispino, F & Ribaux, O 2015, 'The end of the (forensic science) world as we know it? The example of trace evidence', PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, vol. 370, no. 1674.
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© 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. The dominant conception of forensic science as a patchwork of disciplines primarily assisting the criminal justice system (i.e. forensics) is in crisis or at least shows a series of anomalies and serious limitations. In recent years, symptoms of the crisis have been discussed in a number of reports by various commentators, without a doubt epitomized by the 2009 report by the US National Academies of Sciences (NAS 2009 Strengthening forensic science in the United States: a path forward). Although needed, but viewed as the solution to these drawbacks, the almost generalized adoption of stricter business models in forensic science casework compounded with ever- increasing normative and compliance processes not only place additional pressures on a discipline that already appears in difficulty, but also induce more fragmentation of the different forensic science tasks, a tenet many times denounced by the same NAS report and other similar reviews. One may ask whether these issues are not simply the result of an unfit paradigm. If this is the case, the current problems faced by forensic science may indicate future significant changes for the discipline. To facilitate broader discussion this presentation focuses on trace evidence, an area that is seminal to forensic science both for epistemological and historical reasons. There is, however, little doubt that this area is currently under siege worldwide. Current and future challenges faced by trace evidence are discussed along with some possible answers. The current situation ultimately presents some significant opportunities to re-invent not only trace evidence but also forensic science. Ultimately, a distinctive, more robust and more reliable science may emerge through rethinking the forensics paradigm built on specialisms, revisiting fundamental forensic science principles and adapting them to the twenty-first century.
Soleymani, S, Ireland, T & McNevin, D 2015, 'Toning Japanese tissue papers: An international survey of paper conservation practitioners', AICCM Bulletin, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 116-123.
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This paper presents the findings of an international online survey designed to understand more about accepted practice in paper conservation around the world. Japanese tissue papers have long been used for repairing old documents; however, their colour needs to be visually adjusted to be in keeping with the tonality of the document being repaired. Despite substantial literature on the dyeing of textiles, few studies have been conducted on the effects of toning materials on Japanese mending papers used for paper conservation purposes. The findings of this study suggest that paper conservators generally rely on personal experience, the information passed on from their colleagues and Japanese paper suppliers, and that they tend to feel confident about their choices, despite the fact that there has been little research on the long-term effects of toning materials on Japanese papers. We suggest that further research into the realities of practice and how different conservation and toning techniques have evolved in specific local, cultural and historical circumstances is a fruitful field for further research.
Spindler, X, Shimmon, R, Roux, C & Lennard, C 2015, 'Visualising substrate-fingermark interactions: Solid-state NMR spectroscopy of amino acid reagent development on cellulose substrates', FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL, vol. 250, pp. 8-16.
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© 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Most spectroscopic studies of the reaction products formed by ninhydrin, 1,2-indanedione-zinc (Ind-Zn) and 1,8-diazafluoren-9-one (DFO) when reacted with amino acids or latent fingermarks on paper substrates are focused on visible absorption or luminescence spectroscopy. In addition, structural elucidation studies are typically limited to solution-based mass spectrometry or liquid nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, which does not provide an accurate representation of the fingermark development process on common paper substrates. The research presented in this article demonstrates that solid-state carbon-13 magic angle spinning NMR (13C-MAS-NMR) is a technique that can not only be utilised for structural studies of fingermark enhancement reagents, but is a promising technique for characterising the effect of paper chemistry on fingermark deposition and enhancement. The latter opens up a research area that has been under-explored to date but has the potential to improve our understanding of how fingermark secretions and enhancement reagents interact with paper substrates.
Stojanovska, N, Tahtouh, M, Kelly, T, Beavis, A & Fu, S 2015, 'Qualitative analysis of seized cocaine samples using desorption electrospray ionization- mass spectrometry (DESI-MS)', DRUG TESTING AND ANALYSIS, vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 393-400.
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Desorption electrospray ionization - mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) is a useful technique for the qualitative analysis of compounds found in seized drug material. In this study, DESI-MS was utilized in the screening analysis of illicit cocaine samples. The technique was also applied to the geographical origin determination of these samples. The limit of detection was determined to be 24.3μg (or 3.47μg/mm2) and the analysis time was less than 1minute per sample. The intra-day and inter-day precision for the detection of cocaine was 11 % and 42 %, respectively; therefore the quantitative data provided by DESI-MS was limited in its use for accurate determination of cocaine concentration in a sample. Using the quadrupole time-of-flight (QTOF) mass spectrometer, the presence of cocaine and impurities detected were confirmed by accurate tandem MS data. The qualitative chemical profiles obtained using DESI-MS were compared to two popular analysis techniques, GC-MS and LC-MS. The effects of a range of adulterants including caffeine, procaine, levamisole, lignocaine, paracetamol, and atropine on the detectability of cocaine were also investigated. It was found that the addition of these adulterants in a cocaine sample did not prevent the detection of the analyte itself (there was slight enhancement in some samples), which was useful in drug detection. The detection of truxillines in the seized samples by DESI-MS aided in the preliminary determination of geographical origin, i.e.,Bolivian, Peruvian or Colombian leaf origin. The application of DESI-MS to the qualitative analysis and screening of seized cocaine samples demonstrates the potential and applicability of the technique to the fast chemical profiling of illicit samples. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Taudte, RV, Roux, C, Bishop, D, Blanes, L, Doble, P & Beavis, A 2015, 'Development of a UHPLC method for the detection of organic gunshot residues using artificial neural networks', Analytical Methods, vol. 7, no. 18, pp. 7447-7454.
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A UHPLC method was developed for a broad range of OGSR compounds using ANNs and evaluated using simulated case samples.
Ueland, M, Nizio, KD, Forbes, SL & Stuart, BH 2015, 'The interactive effect of the degradation of cotton clothing and decomposition fluid production associated with decaying remains', Forensic Science International, vol. 255, pp. 56-63.
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Abstract Textiles are a commonly encountered source of evidence in forensic cases. In the past, most research has been focused on how textiles affect the decomposition process while little attention has been paid to how the decomposition products interact with the textiles. While some studies have shown that the presence of remains will have an effect on the degradation of clothing associated with a decaying body, very little work has been carried out on the specific mechanisms that prevent or delay textile degradation when in contact with decomposing remains. In order to investigate the effect of decomposition fluid on textile degradation, three clothed domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) carcasses were placed on a soil surface, textile specimens were collected over a period of a year and were then analysed using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and GC-MS. Multivariate statistical analysis was used to analyse the data. Cotton specimens not associated with remains degraded markedly, whereas the samples exposed to decomposition fluids remained relatively intact over the same time frame. An investigation of the decomposition by-products found that the protein-related bands remained stable and unchanged throughout the experiment. Lipid components, on the other hand, demonstrated a significant change; this was confirmed with the use of both ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and GC-MS. Through an advanced statistical approach, information about the decomposition by-products and their characteristics was obtained. There is potential that the lipid profile in a textile specimen could be a valuable tool used in the examination of clothing located at a crime scene.
