NCJ Number
219911
Journal
Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal Volume: 40 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2007 Pages: 53-63
Date Published
June 2007
Length
11 pages
Annotation
A comparative analysis is conducted on four different formulations of luminol with respect to luminescence and longevity in the detection of blood.
Abstract
Differences were shown in the effectiveness and usefulness of four luminol formulations currently used in forensic science. Despite the convenience of the Grodsky formulation, with its use of a solid (perborate) oxidizing agent, rather than an unstable liquid (hydrogen peroxide) oxidizing agent, luminol appears to have disadvantages in its use, particularly if DNA analysis is likely to be required. Luminol is a valuable tool for crime scene examiners. The use of this reagent, primarily at crime scenes, allows the visualization of occult or diluted blood, and the detection of small quantities of blood. Over the years, various different luminal formulations have been proposed. Luminol formulations for the detection of latent bloodstains consist of the luminol reagent in an alkaline environment, and an oxidizing reagent. The two standard formulations are those of Grodsky and Weber. Grodsky and coworkers were the first to suggest a luminol-based reagent for the detection of blood. This method uses sodium carbonate as the base, and sodium perborate as the oxidizing agent. In the Weber system, sodium perborate is replaced with hydrogen peroxide, and sodium carbonate is replaced with sodium hydroxide. Two new formulations proposed include Spruitt and coworkers suggesting halving the concentrations of luminol, sodium hydroxide, and hydrogen peroxide in the Weber method, in order to minimize any luminol-induced DNA degradation. Esperanca and coworkers present results using a patented commercial product, Bluestar, which includes hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide. This study compared the Weber, Grodsky, Spruitt’s half-strength Weber formulation (known as Weber II) and Bluestar with regard to their usefulness in the detection of blood, and in the ability of such treated samples to generate DNA profiles. Figures, references