[Determining the postmortem interval of bone samples: a comparison of luminol chemiluminescence, Hexagon OBTI test,...

In the experiment, 16 human bones with known postmortem interval (PMI) that had been buried in soil (0.2 to about 2000 years) were tested in a blind setup with two established methods for determining the PMI (UV fluorescence of the surface of a fresh cut and the luminol chemiluminescence) and with two methods applied for this purpose for the first time (Hexagon OBTI test and Combur test). The results underline the importance of the UV fluorescence and luminol tests in determining the PMI, especially with regard to the question whether the PMI is forensically relevant or not. The results for both new methods, the Combur test strips and the Hexagon OBTI test, which were originally developed for the detection of hemoglobin, were negative for all samples. It remains to be seen if the negative results for these two methods may be due to an inability of hemoglobin or its metabolites to dissolve in the Tris buffer solution used in the experiment.