GC × GC-TOFMS and supervised multivariate approaches to study human cadaveric decomposition olfactive signatures

Area of Science:

• Forensic Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Limited understanding of soft tissue decomposition processes hinders forensic investigations.
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted during decomposition are key indicators.
• Victim recovery (VR) canines require improved training for locating human remains.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the volatile organic compound (VOC) profile of human remains during early decomposition stages.
• To compare the VOC profiles of early human and pig decomposition to assess the validity of pig surrogates.
• To enhance the analytical methods for studying decomposition and improve canine training.

Main Methods:

• Utilized comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS).
• Applied supervised multivariate statistical approaches for robust data interpretation of complex VOC mixtures.
• Monitored early decomposition stages of both human remains and pig carcasses as surrogates.

Main Results:

• GC×GC-TOFMS provided enhanced resolution of VOCs compared to traditional methods.
• Supervised multivariate statistics effectively interpreted the large datasets generated.
• Demonstrated that pig carcasses exhibit similar early decomposition VOC trends to human remains.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully characterized VOCs during early human decomposition using advanced analytical techniques.
• Pig carcasses serve as a robust analog model for studying early human decomposition VOCs.
• Findings can improve VR canine training and forensic thanato-chemistry understanding.