Bioanalytical advancements in the reliable visualization and discrimination of bodily fluids

Abstract

Body fluids are an important form of biological trace evidence that can be used to substantially inform many aspects of criminal investigations; fluids such as blood, semen, and saliva can provide investigators with more information about the specific nature of an offence and associate individuals with a crime via DNA profiling. However, many of the techniques currently used to locate and identify body fluids left at crime scenes suffer from low specificity, sample destruction and lengthy operation times. As a result, many members of the forensic and academic communities are working together towards the development of new rapid, sensitive and specific body fluid analysis methods. This chapter initially provides an overview of the fluid detection and attribution strategies currently employed within routine forensic casework and their associated weaknesses. Next, a selection of spectroscopic and molecular techniques that show the most promise as replacements for traditional fluid testing strategies, along with the merits and limitations of each method, are described.