TY - JOUR
T1 - Towards Onsite Age Estimation of Semen Stains Using Fluorescence Spectroscopy
AU - Achetib, Nihad
AU - Leemberg, Caren C.
AU - Geurts, Mathijs M. P.
AU - Bloemen, Paul R.
AU - van den Elzen, Richard M.
AU - Aalders, Maurice C. G.
AU - van Dam, Annemieke
N1 - Funding Information: This research is funded by the Dutch Technology Foundation STW, which is part of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), and which is partly funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Project number: 14430. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
PY - 2023/7/1
Y1 - 2023/7/1
N2 - The age estimation of biological traces is one of the holy grails in forensic investigations. We developed a method for the age estimation of semen stains using fluorescence spectroscopy in conjunction with a stoichiometric ageing model. The model describes the degradation and generation rate of proteins and fluorescent oxidation products (FOX) over time. The previously used fluorimeter is a large benchtop device and requires system optimization for forensic applications. In situ applications have the advantage that measurements can be performed directly at the crime scene, without additional sampling or storage steps. Therefore, a portable fiber-based fluorimeter was developed, consisting of two optimized light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and two spectrometers to allow the fluorescence protein and FOX measurements. The handheld fiber can be used without touching the traces, avoiding the destruction or contamination of the trace. In this study, we have measured the ageing kinetics of semen stains over time using both our portable fluorimeter and a laboratory benchtop fluorimeter and compared their accuracies for the age estimation of semen stains. Successful age estimation was possible up to 11 days, with a mean absolute error of 1.0 days and 0.9 days for the portable and the benchtop fluorimeters, respectively. These results demonstrate the potential of using the portable fluorimeter for in situ applications.
AB - The age estimation of biological traces is one of the holy grails in forensic investigations. We developed a method for the age estimation of semen stains using fluorescence spectroscopy in conjunction with a stoichiometric ageing model. The model describes the degradation and generation rate of proteins and fluorescent oxidation products (FOX) over time. The previously used fluorimeter is a large benchtop device and requires system optimization for forensic applications. In situ applications have the advantage that measurements can be performed directly at the crime scene, without additional sampling or storage steps. Therefore, a portable fiber-based fluorimeter was developed, consisting of two optimized light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and two spectrometers to allow the fluorescence protein and FOX measurements. The handheld fiber can be used without touching the traces, avoiding the destruction or contamination of the trace. In this study, we have measured the ageing kinetics of semen stains over time using both our portable fluorimeter and a laboratory benchtop fluorimeter and compared their accuracies for the age estimation of semen stains. Successful age estimation was possible up to 11 days, with a mean absolute error of 1.0 days and 0.9 days for the portable and the benchtop fluorimeters, respectively. These results demonstrate the potential of using the portable fluorimeter for in situ applications.
KW - fluorescence spectroscopy
KW - forensics
KW - semen
KW - time of deposition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85164844238&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.3390/s23136148
DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/s23136148
M3 - Article
C2 - 37447996
SN - 1424-8220
VL - 23
JO - SENSORS
JF - SENSORS
IS - 13
M1 - 6148
ER -