Impacts of one-step luminescent cyanoacrylate fuming and time on subsequent DNA analysis
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
With the development of ever-more sensitive methods to extract and analyze DNA, latent fingerprints can be both a source of friction ridge pattern comparison and DNA for profile comparison in forensic cases. One-step luminescent cyanoacrylate products were developed to increase efficiency of latent fingerprint processing and reduce handling of the prints themselves by rendering a secondary dye step unnecessary. This study aimed to assess two different one-step luminescent cyanoacrylate products for both ability to produce visible prints without additional dye and for compatibility with subsequent DNA analysis. Drops of blood and saliva were deposited on glass slides along with a fingerprint (touch DNA), all from the same donor, and divided into three groups. One group remained untreated and was swabbed without any added chemical. The other two groups underwent fuming with PolyCyano UV and Lumicyano™, respectively, and the fingerprints produced were photographed and assessed prior to the samples being swabbed. Within the treatment groups, the samples were further divided into three aging periods: one day, one month, and three months. After aging, the samples went through standard DNA analysis to determine the quantity of DNA available in the sample and the quality of the DNA profile produced. DNA quantity was based on the amount of small autosomal DNA detected during quantitative real-time PCR.
It was found that both methods produced adequate contrast for the visualization and analysis of latent prints, though more minutiae were determinable in the prints fumed with PolyCyano UV than Lumicyano™. PolyCyano UV samples also showed higher quantity levels in all matrices and time points than Lumicyano™. Full profiles were obtained from all blood and saliva samples. The touch DNA profiles for both cyanoacrylate treatments were more complete than the untreated prints, with PolyCyano UV producing higher quality profiles than Lumicyano™. It may be that the use of both fuming methods has a positive effect on the recovery of touch DNA. Over the aging process, the touch DNA treated with Lumicyano™ saw the greatest increase in degradation index when compared with the untreated and PolyCyano UV samples.
Description
2024
License
Attribution 4.0 International