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Assessment of the Effects Exerted by Acid and Alkaline Solutions on Bone: Is Chemistry the Answer?
Author(s) -
Amadasi Alberto,
Camici Arianna,
Porta Davide,
Cucca Lucia,
Merli Daniele,
Milanese Chiara,
Profumo Antonella,
Rassifi Nabila,
Cattaneo Cristina
Publication year - 2017
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 - 10.1111/1556-4029.13429
Subject(s) - sulfuric acid , chemistry , sodium hydroxide , inductively coupled plasma , inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry , scanning electron microscope , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , nuclear chemistry , infrared spectroscopy , powder diffraction , hydroxide , mass spectrometry , analytical chemistry (journal) , sulfate , inorganic chemistry , materials science , chromatography , chemical engineering , plasma , crystallography , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering , composite material
The treatment of corpses with extremely acid or basic liquids is sometimes performed in criminal contexts. A thorough characterization by chemical analysis may provide further help to macroscopic and microscopic analysis; 63 porcine bone samples were treated with solutions at different pH (1–14) for immersion periods up to 70 days, as well as in extremely acidic sulfuric acid solutions (9 M/18 M) and extremely basic sodium hydroxide. Inductively coupled optical emission spectrometry (ICP‐OES)/plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), energy dispersive X‐ray analysis (EDX), X‐ray powder diffraction (XRPD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that only the sulfuric acid solution 18 M was able to completely dissolve the sample. In addition, chemical analysis allowed to recognize the contact between bone and substances. Hydrated calcium sulfate arose from extreme pH. The possibility of detecting the presence of human material within the residual solution was demonstrated, especially with FT‐IR, ICP‐OES, and EDX.