Since the detection and identification of blood, semen and saliva stains, the most common body fluids encountered at a crime scene, are important aspects of forensic science, the current study aimed to develop a nondestructive, confirmatory method for body-fluid identification based on Raman spectroscopy coupled with advanced statistical analysis.
Dry traces of blood, semen and saliva obtained from multiple donors were probed using a confocal Raman microscope with a 785-nm excitation wavelength under controlled laboratory conditions. Results demonstrated, with high confidence, the capability of Raman spectroscopy to identify an unknown substance to be semen, blood or saliva. 5 figures, 1 table, and 75 references (publisher abstract modified)