Forensic Science and Technology Commons^™

Evaluation Of Emerging Screening Technologies For The On-Site Detection And Identification Of Methamphetamine And Its Precursors In Simulated Clandestine Lab Operations, Alexis Nicole Wilcox

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Stimulant drugs comprise one of the top drug categories abused in the United States. Due to its accessibility, low price, and manufacturing simplicity, methamphetamine is frequently placed within the top 10 seized drugs in the country. As of March 2023, methamphetamine is the most seized controlled substance in the United States, with 34,291 kg. In 2022, the United States seized over 79,000 kg of methamphetamine. One reason for the proliferation of methamphetamine is related to the production itself, which does not require large warehouses but can be manufactured in houses using relatively accessible materials and small containers. When a clandestine …

Bci Validation: Yfiler Plus Kit Validation, Chloe Koon

Honors Projects

In order to have access and use the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), it is required by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Quality Assurance Standards (FBI-QAS) for Forensic DNA Units to complete comprehensive validation studies on all equipment, materials, and methods used in the process of DNA analysis. This study continues validation previous done within the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). YFiler Plus is a DNA amplification kit that is used in cases where it is most useful to examine only male DNA profile(s) within a sample by amplifying loci only on the Y-Chromosome. Components of this study include …

Assessment Of Quechers Extraction Protocol For The Lc-Ms/Ms Detection Of Emerging Fentanyl Analogs In Biological Specimens For Clinical And Forensic Purposes, Kylea M. Morris

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Drug abuse within the United States is a dynamic and pervasive issue that affects the quality and life expectancy of our society. One of the major drug classes that are constantly utilized is opioids. Opioids are prescribed for pain management in patients suffering from cancer and other medical illnesses. Long-term use of opioids could lead to tolerance in humans, which poses a risk of reaching fatal overdose levels. Unfortunately, opioids are abused recreationally, and in some instances, individuals are unaware of the presence of dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl, hidden in materials such as heroin, cocaine, oxycodone, and methamphetamine. Recent …

Performance Of A Dna And Protein Co-Extraction With Trypsin In Comparison To Two Proteinase K Based Dna Extraction Methods, Dinura A. Gunatilake

Student Theses

Effective DNA extraction methods are important for forensic applications. The main goal of this experiment was to determine if a newly developed trypsin based protein/DNA co-extraction method applied to contact traces would yield comparable results to a commercial Proteinase K method (QIAamp DNA Investigator Kit) and a Chelex extraction method with Tween 20 used in forensic laboratories. This was tested on 20 sets of sebaceous fingerprints on glass slides.

The results of this study demonstrate the trypsin co-extraction method yielded the highest amount of DNA. In the first comparison, the mean total DNA yields for the trypsin-co extraction method and …

Discrimination Of Monozygotic Twins Using Dna Methylation Levels Of One Cpg Site At Chromosome 3, Dino O. Robinson

Student Theses

Conventional STR typing, commonly used in forensics for human identification, poses a problem in criminal cases and paternity disputes involving monozygotic (MZ) twins because they share identical DNA sequences. To date, no routine method is available in forensics to differentiate between individuals of MZ pairs. Recently, epigenetic methods measuring differential DNA methylation patterns have been applied to MZ twin differentiation. In this study, we investigated the potential to identify MZ twins using a previously identified DNA methylation site in chromosome 3, cg18562578, in a sample of 129 MZ and 37 dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs. We used bisulfite converted saliva DNA …

The Forensic Analysis Of Children's Temporary Tattoos, Erika Bravo

Student Theses

While children’s temporary tattoos have been produced since the 20th century, there are few scientific studies that have evaluated their physical and chemical characteristics. Therefore, this thesis is a preliminary study done to evaluate the composition of children’s temporary tattoos and consider the importance of such traces in a forensic content.

Colored regions in children’s temporary tattoos, such as red, pink, yellow and orange, were found to fluoresce with the use of an alternative light source while the use of microscopy led to the identification of different printing patterns between temporary tattoos. However, limitations in the ability to determine the …

Oil Dries: A New Absorbent Material For Collection Of Ignitable Liquids From Semi-Porous Material, Jessica Sosa

Online Theses and Dissertations

Extraction of an ignitable liquid sample from a semi-porous surface such as concrete is especially difficult. For this purpose, two different solid oil dry absorbent materials, Instazorb and MAXXAbsorb, were researched for use of collection of ignitable liquid samples at a fire scene. These oil dries were spiked with different ignitable liquids (Coleman fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel). Isolation of the ignitable liquid from the oil dry absorbent was accomplished by passive headspace isolation. Data was obtained by gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Chromatograms obtained from both oil dries …

Analysis Of Mitochondrial Dna Coding Region Snps By Pyrosequencing, Kyle Robert Carl Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To date, the use of mitochondrial DNA in forensic analysis has relied on the presence of variations in the control region to differentiate between samples. One problem that this analysis has shown is the occurrence of common Haplogroup H haplotypes or identical sequences. Thus, there is a need to enhance the distinguishing power of this type of analysis. One option has been to investigate the mitochondrial coding region for polymorphisms that could differentiate between samples with identical control region haplotypes. The goal of this study has been to identify polymorphic coding region sites for development in a Pyrosequencing assay that …