Assessment of morphological changes and DNA quantification: An in vitro study on acid-immersed teeth

Acid immersion of victim's body is one of the methods employed to subvert identification of the victim, and hence of the perpetrator. Being hardest and chemically the most stable tissue in the body, teeth can be an important forensic investigative medium in both living and nonliving populations. Teeth are also good reservoirs of both cellular and mitochondrial DNA; however, the quality and quantity of DNA obtained varies according to the environment the tooth has been subjected to. DNA extraction from acid-treated teeth has seldom been reported.

The objectives of the present study were to assess the morphological changes along with DNA recovery from acid-immersed teeth.

Concentrated hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid were employed for tooth decalcification. DNA was extracted on an hourly basis using phenol-chloroform method. Quantification of extracted DNA was done using a spectrophotometer.

Results showed that hydrochloric acid had more destructive capacity compared to other acids.

Sufficient quantity of DNA was obtainable till the first 2 hours of acid immersion and there was an inverse proportional relation between mean absorbance ratio and quantity of obtained DNA on an hourly basis.