Date of Submission

5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Forensic Science

Department

Forensic Science

Advisor

Peter Valentin, Ph.D.

Committee Member

David San Pietro, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Bruce Varga, M.S.

Keywords

Blood Samples, DNA Analysis, Heat Damage

MeSH

Blood, DNA

LCSH

Blood--Analysis, DNA--Analysis

Abstract

When investigating a scene exposed to high temperatures and long burn times, investigators should consider that recoverable blood could be linked to a source and give important profile information after DNA analysis. By locating blood with presumptive and confirmatory reagents, even after exposure to damaging conditions, investigators can attempt not only to confirm that blood was present but also to determine the DNA profile of the blood. Experimenting with the different burn times and temperatures in which blood is still detectable can be followed with DNA analysis, which will show whether the blood is viable after exposure to these damaging conditions.

The experiment consisted of heating three different substrates with blood added to them in a cone calorimeter and an oven. After being allowed to cool down, presumptive and confirmatory tests were run to see if the human blood was recoverable, and then DNA analysis was done to see if the DNA profile was recoverable.

If blood is subjected to high temperatures and longer burn times, depending on the substrate it is deposited on, investigators would attempt to confirm the presence of blood with the Kastle-Meyer reagent and the ABAcard Hema Trace identification kit. They could then test to see if any DNA can be recovered from the samples. This study aimed to use presumptive and confirmatory tests as search tools to try and detect blood at a crime scene altered by higher temperatures and longer burn times and then perform subsequent DNA analysis. The manipulated variables were temperatures, exposure time, and substrate .

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