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Discrimination of menstrual and peripheral blood traces using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform-infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy and chemometrics for forensic purposes

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Abstract

Body fluid traces can provide highly valuable clues in forensic investigations. In particular, bloodstains are a common occurrence in criminal investigation, and the discrimination of menstrual and peripheral blood is a crucial step for casework involving rape and sexual assault. Most of the current protocols require the detection of characteristic menstrual blood components using sophisticated procedures that need to be performed in a laboratory. The present study uses attenuated total reflection Fourier transform-infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy as a nondestructive technique for discriminating menstrual and peripheral blood traces. This method incorporates statistical analysis and was evaluated by internal and external validation testing. A partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA) classification model was created for differentiating the two types of blood in a binary manner. Excellent separation between menstrual and peripheral blood samples was achieved during internal validation. External validation resulted in 100% accuracy for predicting a sample as peripheral or menstrual blood. This study demonstrates that ATR FT-IR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics is a reliable approach for rapid and nondestructive discrimination of menstrual and peripheral bloodstains. It offers a significant advantage to forensic science due to the availability of portable instruments and the potential for bloodstain analysis at a crime scene.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all volunteers who donated their blood for use in this study. I.K.L. also acknowledges the Government of the Russian Federation for supporting scientific research projects implemented under the supervision of leading scientists at Russian institutions of higher education (proposal no. №2020-220-08-2389).

Funding

This project was supported by Awards No. 2017-R2-CX-0006 and 2017-DN-BX-0135, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

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  1. Department of Chemistry, University at Albany, State University of New York, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY, 12222, USA

    Ewelina Mistek-Morabito & Igor K. Lednev

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  1. Ewelina Mistek-Morabito
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  2. Igor K. Lednev
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Correspondence to Igor K. Lednev.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University at Albany’s Institutional Research Board (IRB). The study was approved by the University at Albany’s IRB (Study No. 18E091).

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Mistek-Morabito, E., Lednev, I.K. Discrimination of menstrual and peripheral blood traces using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform-infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy and chemometrics for forensic purposes. Anal Bioanal Chem 413, 2513–2522 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03206-w

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