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In Situ Identification of Semen Stains on Common Substrates via Raman Spectroscopy , ,
Author(s) -
McLaughlin Gregory,
Lednev Igor K.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12708
Subject(s) - raman spectroscopy , semen , in situ , identification (biology) , background subtraction , analytical chemistry (journal) , materials science , subtraction , chemistry , computer science , optics , chromatography , artificial intelligence , physics , medicine , anatomy , biology , mathematics , botany , pixel , arithmetic , organic chemistry
The spectroscopic identification of body fluids in situ is a major objective in forensic science. This approach offers the confirmatory, nondestructive, rapid, and on‐scene identification of various body fluids. Although R aman spectroscopy has shown tremendous promise toward this goal in prior proof‐of‐concept experiments, a significant challenge which still remains is substrate interference. Here, an approach for detecting semen stains in situ on various substrates using R aman spectroscopy is explored. Simulated semen evidence was prepared on skin, glass, and various fabrics. Raman data were accumulated from stains without any pretreatment using a common confocal mapping spectrometer using 785 nm laser excitation. The results demonstrate that the spectroscopic interferences encountered by substrates can be reduced and eliminated using a combination of existing subtraction techniques and chemometric models. Heterogeneous substrates proved most challenging, however, automatic subtraction treatment, and location of fluid hotspots was able to elucidate a clear spectroscopic signature of semen in every instance.