Authors
Sowndarya S, Dr. Suchita Rawat
Abstract
Blood is frequently found at crime scenes, either as dried stains or in liquid form, yet it's often in limited quantities. Traditional tests for blood can sometimes damage the sample, hindering deeper analysis. Recent scientific work has highlighted Raman spectroscopy as a non-invasive method for identifying bodily fluids. This study delves into the sensitivity and accuracy of Raman spectroscopy in identifying blood, using the Raman peakseeker™-PRO785 for our analysis. Our study demonstrated that Raman Spectroscopy can detect blood even when diluted up to 1:250 with water. Additionally, this technique successfully identified blood in aged samples. In essence, this study underscores the importance of Raman spectroscopy in identifying various body fluids. Keywords: Raman Spectra, Human Blood, Sensitivity, Specificity
Introduction
Forensic serology is the application of serology in identification of body fluids such as blood, semen, saliva, vaginal secretions, etc., to legal matters, for example in relating victim/preparator to the crime, to establish presence of victim or preparator during crime and also to produce body fluids as the evidence in court of law in order to solve the case. Of various body fluids blood is the most common evidence encountered in violent crimes such as assault, accidents, and murder (Harris and Lee, 2007). Blood consists of plasma, red blood cells (Erythrocytes), white blood cells (Leukocytes) and platelets (Dean, 2005). During examination of the blood evidence, forensic serologists confirm that the collected evidence from crime scene is blood. Another important aspect is to determine the species of origin of the blood sample and individualization (Li, 2008). Alternate Light Source such as Polilight is used for the identification of latent bloodstain in the crime scene. However, while using ultraviolet wavelength the DNA present in blood could get damaged and the sample cannot be used for DNA profiling (Vandenberg and Oorshot, 2006). Various presumptive tests are performed by forensic scientists to check particular stain or liquid might be blood. These tests are based on the peroxidase-like activity of heme group present in hemoglobin, a red-colored pigment present in erythrocytes (Spalding, 2003). The most confirmatory tests (for blood and semen) are destructive. It is necessary to apply different tests to confirm each type of body fluid; this limitation requires division of a sample into several parts, and a portion of the sample having to be kept for possible future analyses (Zapata et al., 2014).
Raman spectroscopy has found increasing utility across diverse areas of forensic science, analyzing evidence like ink, lipstick, drugs, paint, and fibers. Its non-destructive nature allows for application in forensic serology, identifying bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, semen, urine, sweat, and vaginal secretions (Virkler & Lednev, 2008). This technique, based on the theory of inelastic scattering of low-intensity laser light, operates without damaging the sample (Virkler & Lednev, 2009). It often requires minimal or no sample preparation, allowing direct analysis in some cases with quantities as minute as picograms or femtoliters. The advantage of detecting trace amounts of blood directly aids subsequent DNA analysis, a crucial step in investigations. Unlike conventional presumptive tests, Raman spectroscopy doesn't consume the sample and shows less interference with water, enabling analysis of blood in its fluid form (Virkler & Lednev, 2008). The unique spectral signature generated for various body fluids facilitates their distinction, even amid contaminants like sand, dust, or soil, and differentiation between different bodily fluids (Harbison and Fleming, 2016; Sikirzhytskaya et al., 2023). Raman spectroscopy identifies blood by discerning specific components such as hemoglobin, albumin, fibrin, and glucose based on their characteristic peaks (Virkler and Lednev, 2008). Its ability to measure individual erythrocytes allows the identification of minute blood particles present on tape or fibers, relying on the vibrational spectrum of hemoglobin (De Wael et al., 2008). The sensitivity of m RNA markers was similar to the sensitivity of presumptive blood tests such as tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) And Hexagon OBTI test but the disadvantage of this method is non-specificity with saliva due to trace amount of blood and mensural blood (Harbison and Fleming, 2016). UV-visible spectroscopy is considered highly reliable for confirming the presence of aged blood samples. Hemoglobin derivatives show characteristic sorbent band around 400 nm (Virkler nd Lednev, 2009). The advantage of this method is to estimate the time since deposition of blood stains (Hanson and Bllantyne, 2010). Blood may available in any form such as fresh liquid, stain, coagulated or dried. Hence requires different method of collection and preservation (Kleypas and Badiye, 2023).
This comprehensive overview underscores the efficacy of Raman spectroscopy in forensic science, particularly in identifying trace blood evidence. This study aims to utilize Raman spectroscopy to identify and determine the sensitivity and specificity of stored blood samples.
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| APA Style | S, S., & Rawat, Dr. S. (2024). A Pilot Study On The Identification Of Blood Using Raman Spectroscopy. Academic Journal of Forensic Sciences, 07(02), 21–26. |
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