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Updated: May 25, 2026

Rejection of Fluorescence Background in Resonance and Spontaneous Raman Microspectroscopy
Published on: May 18, 2011
Discriminant analysis of Raman spectra for body fluid identification for forensic purposes
Vitali Sikirzhytski1, Kelly Virkler, Igor K Lednev
1Department of Chemistry, University at Albany, SUNY, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222, USA.
Abstract:
Detection and identification of blood, semen and saliva stains, the most common body fluids encountered at a crime scene, are very important aspects of forensic science today. This study targets the development of 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 the capability of Raman spectroscopy to identify an unknown substance to be semen, blood or saliva with high confidence.
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