Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy hair analysis after household contamination

Juarez, Isaac; Kurouski, Dmitry

doi:10.1039/d3ay01219k

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The pH of each soil type was measured using a benchtop pH meter to be 6.38, 6.81, and 9.96, for soil types A, B, and C, respectively. In our previous study, we showed that substances with acidic pH, such as white wine and orange juice, drastically lower the accuracy of SERS-based identification of colorants on hair 16 . We hypothesized that the acidic pH facilitates the desorption of artificial colorants from the hair surface.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to probe artificial dye degradation on hair buried in multiple soils for up to eight weeks

Holman,

Peterson,

Linhart

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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The discovery of clandestine burials poses unique challenges for forensic specialists, requiring diverse expertise to analyze remains in various states. Bones, teeth, and hair often endure the test of time, with hair particularly exposed to the external environment. While existing studies focus on the degradation of virgin hair influenced by soil pH and decomposition fluids, the interaction between artificial dyes on hair and soil remains underexplored. This paper introduces a novel approach to forensic hair analysis that is based on high-throughput, nondestructive, and non-invasive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and machine learning. Using this approach, we investigated the reliability of the detection and identification of artificial dyes on hair buried in three distinct soil types for up to eight weeks. Our results demonstrated that SERS enabled the correct prediction of 97.9% of spectra for five out of the eight dyes used within the 8 weeks of exposure. We also investigated the extent to which SERS and machine learning can be used to predict the number of weeks since burial, as this information may provide valuable insights into post-mortem intervals. We found that SERS enabled highly accurate exposure intervals to soils for specific dyes. The study underscores the high achievability of SERS in extrapolating colorant information from dyed hairs buried in diverse soils, with the suggestion that further model refinement could enhance its reliability in forensic applications.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to probe artificial dye degradation on hair buried in multiple soils for up to eight weeks

Holman,

Peterson,

Linhart

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…Experimental findings reported by Casadio and co-workers demonstrated that colored fabric often exhibits strong fluorescence, which obscures the possibility of using RS for the identification of both fabric material and dyes [11]. Van Duyne's group demonstrated that noble metal nanostructures could be used to both suppress the fluorescence and enhance the Raman scattering from dye molecules present in fabric [25][26][27]. This analytical approach is known as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) [28][29][30][31][32][33].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-Destructive Identification of Dyes on Fabric Using Near-Infrared Raman Spectroscopy

Peterson,

Kurouski

2023

Molecules

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Fabric is a commonly found piece of physical evidence at most crime scenes. Forensic analysis of fabric is typically performed via microscopic examination. This subjective approach is primarily based on pattern recognition and, therefore, is often inconclusive. Most of the fabric material found at crime scenes is colored. One may expect that a confirmatory identification of dyes can be used to enhance the reliability of the forensic analysis of fabric. In this study, we investigated the potential of near-infrared Raman spectroscopy (NIRS) in the confirmatory, non-invasive, and non-destructive identification of 15 different dyes on cotton. We found that NIRS was able to resolve the vibrational fingerprints of all 15 colorants. Using partial-squared discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), we showed that NIRS enabled ~100% accurate identification of dyes based on their vibrational signatures. These findings open a new avenue for the robust and reliable forensic analysis of dyes on fabric directly at crime scenes. Main conclusion: a hand-held Raman spectrometer and partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) approaches enable highly accurate identification of dyes on fabric.

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Near-infrared excitation Raman spectroscopy of colored fabric contaminated with body fluids

Juárez,

Kurouski

2024

Sci Rep

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Confirmatory identification of dyes in the physical pieces of evidence, such as hair and fabric, is critically important in forensics. This information can be used to demonstrate the link between a person of interest and a crime scene. High performance liquid chromatography is broadly used for dye analysis. However, this technique is destructive and laborious. This problem can be overcome by near-Infrared excitation Raman spectroscopy (NIeRS), non-invasive and non-destructive technique that can be used to determine chemical structure of highly fluorescent dyes. Analyzed fabric materials often possess body fluid stains, which may obscure the accuracy of NIeRS-based identification of dyes. In this study, we investigate the extent to which fabric contamination with body fluids can alter the accuracy of NIeRS. Our results showed that NIeRS coupled with partial-least squared discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) enabled on average 97.6% accurate identification of dyes on fabric contaminated with dry blood, urine and semen. We also found that NIeRS could be used to identify blood, urine and semen on such fabric with 99.4% accuracy. Furthermore, NIeRS could be used to differentiate between wet and dry blood, as well as reveal the presence of blood on washed fabric. These results indicate that NIeRS coupled with PLS-DA could be used as a robust and reliable analytical approach in forensic analysis of fabric.

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Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy hair analysis after household contamination

Abstract: Trace evidence found at crime scenes is rarely in an unsullied condition. It has been demonstrated that surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can be used for the detection of artificial hair...

Cited by 4 publications

References 17 publications

Using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to probe artificial dye degradation on hair buried in multiple soils for up to eight weeks

Using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy to probe artificial dye degradation on hair buried in multiple soils for up to eight weeks

Non-Destructive Identification of Dyes on Fabric Using Near-Infrared Raman Spectroscopy

Near-infrared excitation Raman spectroscopy of colored fabric contaminated with body fluids

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