Analytical separations of mammalian decomposition products for forensic science: A review

Abstract

The study of mammalian soft tissue decomposition is an emerging area in forensic science, with a major focus of the research being the use of various chemical and biological methods to study the fate of human remains in the environment. Decomposition of mammalian soft tissue is a postmortem process that, depending on environmental conditions and physiological factors, will proceed until complete disintegration of the tissue. The major stages of decomposition involve complex reactions which result in the chemical breakdown of the body's main constituents; lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. The first step to understanding this chemistry is identifying the compounds present in decomposition fluids and determining when they are produced. This paper provides an overview of decomposition chemistry and reviews recent advances in this area utilising analytical separation science.

Fatty Acid Structure and Degradation Analysis in Fingerprint Residues

“…It might also be conceivable that in addition to the observed oxidation process, odd-numbered fatty acids indicate microbial degradation of long chain fatty acids [50]. In order to consider microbial action in fingerprint residues, it should be mentioned that the breakdown of triglycerides and wax esters may result in the production of free fatty acids in aged fingerprint samples.…”

Decomposition Process and Post Mortem Changes: Review

“…Autolysis normally begins at cells, which are metabolically active or contain large amount of water, lysosomes and hydrolytic enzymes. Organs that are involved in high adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production and membrane transportation such as liver and brain are also more susceptible to autolysis reaction as compared to other organs (Gennard 2007;Swann et al 2010b). At this level, the degradation can only be observed at histological level (Enwere 2008;Janaway et al 2009a).…”

“…Shortly after pulmonary and cardiovascular system stops, supply of oxygen to cell ceases and continued depletion of oxygen concentration will lead to anaerobic condition within the corpse (Swann et al 2010b;Zhou & Byard 2011). In order to maintain basic cellular metabolic activity, anaerobic mechanism glycolysis serves as an alternative source of energy and produces waste products such as carbon dioxide and lactate.…”

Postmortem Internal Gas Reservoir Monitoring Using GC×GC-HRTOF-MS

“…To calculate the mass accuracy, the drift mass was corrected based on the siloxane peak (m/z 207.0329), taken directly beside the corresponding compound peak. The identified decomposition-specific VOCs were polysulfide compounds (dimethyl trisulfide and dimethyl tetrasulfide) [33], different isomers of xylene and cymene, as well as phenolic compounds [8,33,34]. Figure 5.…”