Issue 20, 2024

Phenotypic profiling based on body fluid traces discovered at the scene of crime: Raman spectroscopy of urine stains for race differentiation

Abstract

Modern criminal investigations heavily rely on trace bodily fluid evidence as a rich source of DNA. DNA profiling of such evidence can result in the identification of an individual if a matching DNA profile is available. Alternatively, phenotypic profiling based on the analysis of body fluid traces can significantly narrow down the pool of suspects in a criminal investigation. Urine stain is a frequently encountered specimen at the scene of crime. Raman spectroscopy offers great potential as a universal confirmatory method for the identification of all main body fluids, including urine. In this proof-of-concept study, Raman spectroscopy combined with advanced statistics was used for race differentiation based on the analysis of urine stains. Specifically, a Random Forest (RF) model was built, which allowed for differentiating Caucasian (CA) and African American (AA) descent donors with 90% accuracy based on Raman spectra of dried urine samples. Raman spectra were collected from samples of 28 donors varying in age and sex. This novel technology offers great potential as a universal forensic tool for phenotypic profiling of a potential suspect immediately at the scene of a crime, providing invaluable information for a criminal investigation.

Graphical abstract: Phenotypic profiling based on body fluid traces discovered at the scene of crime: Raman spectroscopy of urine stains for race differentiation

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 Jul 2024
Accepted
17 Aug 2024
First published
27 Aug 2024

Analyst, 2024,149, 5081-5090

Phenotypic profiling based on body fluid traces discovered at the scene of crime: Raman spectroscopy of urine stains for race differentiation

B. Vyas, L. Halámková and I. K. Lednev, Analyst, 2024, 149, 5081 DOI: 10.1039/D4AN00938J

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