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                            Funding & Awards
 Raman spectroscopy for analyzing body fluid traces: Moving towards a practical forensic application
Award Information
Awardee
              The Research Foundation for The SUNY, University at Albany
Award #
              2014-DN-BX-K016
Funding Category
              Competitive
Location
                    Albany, NY
Awardee County
              Albany
Congressional District
              20
Status
              Closed
Funding First Awarded
              2014
Total funding (to date)
              $682,412
Original Solicitation
              NIJ FY 14 Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2014, $682,412)
As submitted by the proposer: The proposed study is a continuation of an ongoing research project ultimately targeting the development of an easy-to-use, portable Raman spectroscopic instrument for the rapid, nondestructive, and confirmatory identification of body fluid traces recovered at crime scenes. This new methodology would allow crime scene investigators to identify all major body fluids using one instrument and retrieve information about the donor, which could potentially include gender, race, and age. The proposed study aims to investigate possible sources of uncertainty of the developed method, account for varying conditions of forensic evidence, and investigate the possibility to determine donor age based on body fluid traces. This will be accomplished in five objectives, (i) determine the limit of detection of the method, (ii) simulate forensic evidence by varying preparation conditions and substrates, (iii) identify false positives, (iv) validate the method with real case-like samples, and (v) evaluate the ability of the method to determine donor age. We have formed two significant partnerships. Dr Barry Duceman, of the New York State Police Forensic Investigation center, and Dr Arian van Asten and Gerard Stor, of the Netherland Forensic Institute, will advise us throughout the proposed project and provide us with case-realistic samples for validation testing. Body fluid samples will be purchased from a biological supplier to represent a genetically diverse donor population. Samples will be measured using a Raman microspectrometer, and the spectra will be analyzed using advanced chemometrics and statistical modeling. Regression and classification models will be built using calibration datasets, and then tested with external validation datasets. The work will be carried out over a three year time span at the University at Albany, State University of New York, in Albany, New York. All results from the proposed work will be published in peer-reviewed academic journals, submitted in semi-annual and final progress reports, and presented at professional conferences. The resulting data will include numerous spectral datasets from each objective and statistical models. All data will be archived with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data. ca/ncf



  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      Forensics: Evidence Examination via Raman Spectroscopy
                  Raman Spectroscopy for Analyzing Body Fluid Traces: Moving Towards a Practical Forensic Application
                  Raman Spectroscopy for Forensic Purposes: Recent Applications for Serology and Gunshot Residue Analysis
                  Bloodstains, Paintings, and Drugs Raman Spectroscopy Applications in Forensic Science
                  Bloodstains, Paintings, and Drugs: Raman Spectroscopy Applications in Forensic Science
                  Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy: A Review of Recent Applications in Forensic Science
                  Differentiating Donor Age Groups Based on Raman Spectroscopy of Bloodstains for Forensic Purposes
                  Differentiation of Human Blood From Animal Blood Using Raman Spectroscopy: A Survey of Forensically Relevant Species
                  Ultraviolet Resonance Raman Spectroscopy for the Detection of Cocaine in Oral Fluid
                  Differentiation of Hair Using ATR FT-IR Spectroscopy: A Statistical Classification of Dyed and Non-dyed Hairs
                  Differentiation of Hair Using ATR FT-IR Spectroscopy: A Statistical Classification of Dyed and Non-Dyed Hairs
                  Predicting the Time of the Crime: Bloodstain Aging Estimation for Up to Two Years
                  Quantification of Cocaine in Ternary Mixtures Using Partial Least Squares Regression Applied to Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
                  Determining Gender by Raman Spectroscopy of a Bloodstain
                  Identification of Individual Red Blood Cells by Raman Microspectroscopy for Forensic Purposes: In Search of a Limit of Detection
                  Race Differentiation Based on Raman Spectroscopy of Semen Traces for Forensic Purposes
                  Forensic Body Fluid Identification and Differentiation by Raman Spectroscopy
                  Race Differentiation by Raman Spectroscopy of a Bloodstain for Forensic Purposes
                  Forensic Hair Differentiation Using Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR FT-IR) Spectroscopy
                  Raman "Spectroscopic Clock" for Bloodstain Age Determination: The First Week After Deposition
                  Raman Spectroscopy in Forensic Analysis: Identification of Cocaine and Other Illegal Drugs of Abuse
                  Sex Determination Based on Raman Spectroscopy of Saliva Traces for Forensic Purposes
                  What can Raman Spectroscopy Do for Criminalistics?

  
Date Created: September 11, 2014
    
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