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Chemistry

University at Albany, State University of New York

Raman Spectroscopy

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Raman Spectroscopy Of Aged Waterlogged Bones: Protocol Optimization, Bailey Hoplight May 2022

Raman Spectroscopy Of Aged Waterlogged Bones: Protocol Optimization, Bailey Hoplight

Chemistry

Current methods used for determining the age buried bones for forensic purposes are heavily affected by environmental conditions, can be susceptible to scientific bias and the interpretation can vary from investigator to investigator. Raman Spectroscopy can potentially be used as an automatic method to analyze the composition of bone eliminating the human factor. To test this hypothesis, we will use Raman spectroscopy to potentially identify the burial time of bones. The change in the chemical composition of the pig bones was probed using a Raman spectrometer with a 785nm excitation wavelength. Other parameters of the Raman instrument were optimized to …


Hierarchical Modelling Of Raman Spectroscopic Data Demonstrates The Potential For Manufacturer And Caliber Differentiation Of Smokeless Powders, Nathan Russell Bartlett May 2022

Hierarchical Modelling Of Raman Spectroscopic Data Demonstrates The Potential For Manufacturer And Caliber Differentiation Of Smokeless Powders, Nathan Russell Bartlett

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

With the rise of gun-based crime and the advent of lead-free ammunition reducing the effectiveness of previously used methods, the analysis of smokeless powders to better understand organic gunshot residues is now more important than ever. One method that has shown potential is Raman spectroscopy, a relatively quick, nondestructive, and non-contact analysis method. To investigate whether Raman spectroscopy could be used to characterize individual powders, samples of smokeless powders from three manufacturers, Remington, Federal, and Winchester, each with two 9mm caliber and two .38 caliber ammo types, were dissolved, and their Raman spectra were collected. A hierarchical modelling system was …


Discrimination Between Human And Non-Human Blood Using Raman Spectroscopy And A Self-Reference Algorithm For Forensic Purposes : Method Expansion And Validation, Harrison Dickler Jan 2022

Discrimination Between Human And Non-Human Blood Using Raman Spectroscopy And A Self-Reference Algorithm For Forensic Purposes : Method Expansion And Validation, Harrison Dickler

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Determining whether the origin of a bloodstain is human or non-human is an important capability of a forensic investigation. In their pioneering work, Bian et al. (Journal of biomedical optics, 2017) introduced a self-reference peak algorithm for the analysis of bloodstain Raman spectra and demonstrated a great potential of this approach for differentiating human and nonhuman blood. However, this work only used three non-human species in the creation of their model. This study investigates the capability of a self-referencing peak algorithm to discriminate between human and 18 non-human species based on the Raman spectra of blood samples. The intensity ratios …


Comparison Of Raman Spectra Of Smokeless Powders For Cartridge Differentiation, Nathan Bartlett May 2021

Comparison Of Raman Spectra Of Smokeless Powders For Cartridge Differentiation, Nathan Bartlett

Chemistry

As crimes involving firearms continue to be prevalent, forensic methods processing firearms evidence must keep pace with the changes in said evidence. Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, or SEM-EDS, is a method that targets the inorganic portions of gunshot residue (GSR) evidence, namely lead, barium, and antimony, to characterize a cartridge used at a crime scene, and was the most often used analysis method for characterizing ammunition cartridges. The rise of lead-free ammunition has made it so that SEM-EDS alone is not sufficient for the characterization of inorganic gunshot residue (IGSR), and studies have shifted towards being able …


Utilizing Raman Spectroscopy To Determine The Time Since Deposition Of Heated Bloodstains, Alexis Pearl Barber Jan 2021

Utilizing Raman Spectroscopy To Determine The Time Since Deposition Of Heated Bloodstains, Alexis Pearl Barber

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The development of novel forensic methods is a rapidly growing area within analytical chemistry. Analytical chemistry is well suited for forensic analyses as a plethora of information can be ascertained from utilizing a wide variety of techniques. At the scene of violent crimes, bloodstain evidence is one of the most frequently found and valuable types of evidence. This is because blood is a complex biological fluid which can provide crucial information during a forensic investigation including DNA evidence. The most informative form of analysis is DNA profiling, which potentially allows for the identification of an individual. However, there is more …


The Detection And Identification Of Blood On Interfering Substrates Using Raman Spectroscopy And Hamand For Forensic Purposes, Jalissa M. Thomas Jan 2021

The Detection And Identification Of Blood On Interfering Substrates Using Raman Spectroscopy And Hamand For Forensic Purposes, Jalissa M. Thomas

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Body fluids, such as blood and semen, can provide invaluable information to a criminal investigation. As such, it is imperative that body fluid evidence is properly detected and identified. Our laboratory has developed a methodology to universally detect and identify body fluids using Raman spectroscopy and chemometrics. This methodology was developed under ideal conditions, which are rare in the field. Body fluid evidence can be found on substrates that produce a large Raman signal that can hinder detection of body fluid traces, which produce a weak signal. This project proposes the use of a statistical program called HAMAND (Hypothetical Addition …


Utilizing Raman Spectroscopy And Chemometrics For Novel Medical Diagnostic Purposes, Nicole M. Ralbovsky Jan 2020

Utilizing Raman Spectroscopy And Chemometrics For Novel Medical Diagnostic Purposes, Nicole M. Ralbovsky

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Many problems exist within the myriad of currently employed diagnostic techniques. Further, an incredibly wide variety of procedures are used to identify an even greater number of diseases which exist in the world. There is a definite unmet clinical need to improve the diagnostic capabilities of these methods, including improving test sensitivity and specificity, objectivity and definitiveness, and reducing cost and how invasive a test is, with an interest in replacing multiple diagnostic methods with one powerful tool. That is, the development of a singular technique which can accurately and objectively diagnose a wide variety of diseases in a cost-effective …


Vibrational Spectroscopic Analysis Of Gunshot Residue : A Novel Approach For Detection And Characterization, Justin J. Bueno Jan 2013

Vibrational Spectroscopic Analysis Of Gunshot Residue : A Novel Approach For Detection And Characterization, Justin J. Bueno

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Due to the increasing prevalence of firearm related crimes, there is a need for an all-encompassing analytical technique which can rapidly detect and analyze trace crime scene firearm evidence. There are several forms of ballistics and trace evidence associated with firearm offenses. Historically, the most neglected piece of evidence has ironically been the most prevalent. Each firearm discharge produces a so called gunshot residue (GSR) sample, expelling dust and particles numbering from hundreds to thousands throughout the shooting environment. The detection of GSR at a crime scene or on a suspect is critical for determining what actually happened during a …