Citation

Sterling SA, Mason KE, Anex DS, Parker GJ, Hart B, Prinz M. J. Forensic Sci. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 524 W. 59th St., New York, NY, 10019.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.14042

PMID

30893480

Abstract

Biological evidence analysis from contact traces is adversely affected by low quantity and quality of DNA. Proteins in these samples contain potentially individualizing information and may be particularly important for difficult surfaces such as brass, where DNA may yield incomplete profiles. In this study, touched unfired brass cartridges were sampled using dry tape or wet swabs and analyzed by separating DNA and protein from the same collected material, thus producing both genomic and proteomic information. DNA recovery was similar for both collection methods, with tape yielding an average of 1.36 ± 1.87 ng and swabs, 1.34 ± 3.04 ng. Analysis by mass spectrometry identified 95 proteins, with the two collection methods showing no significant difference (p = 0.76) in the average number of collected proteins: 44.5 ± 10.9, (tape) versus 47.9 ± 20.4 (swabs). Proteins can be collected from fingerprints at levels necessary to provide identifying information, thus expanding information obtained from challenging evidence.

© 2019 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en

Keywords

brass cartridge; contact trace; forensic science; protein DNA co-extraction; tape collection