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Effect of age and storage conditions on the volatile organic compound profile of blood

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Abstract

Cadaver-detection dogs are used by the police to locate missing persons, victims of homicide, and human remains following mass disasters. Training is conducted using a variety of training aids including blood which can be hours, weeks or months old and stored under variable conditions. The aim of this study was to chemically profile human blood using solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to determine how the volatile organic compound (VOC) profile changed over time and under variable storage conditions. The VOC profiles of fresh and degraded blood were analyzed as well as blood stored at room temperature, refrigerated, and frozen. Fresh and degraded blood samples produced distinctive VOC patterns with VOC profiles becoming more complex over time. Freezing the blood produced a complex VOC profile that was clearly discriminated from the VOC profile for blood stored at room temperature or in a refrigerator. This study highlights the importance of standardizing the age and storage conditions when using blood as a training aid to ensure cadaver-detection dogs are exposed to an accurate representation of the blood VOCs they may encounter at a scene.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr David Bishop for instrument support in the UTS Centre for Chemical Technologies. This research was funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) and by the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology Sydney, PO Box 123, Broadway, NSW, 2007, Australia

    Shari L. Forbes, LaTara Rust, Kate Trebilcock, Katelynn A. Perrault & Laura T. McGrath

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  1. Shari L. Forbes
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  2. LaTara Rust
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Correspondence to Shari L. Forbes.

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Forbes, S.L., Rust, L., Trebilcock, K. et al. Effect of age and storage conditions on the volatile organic compound profile of blood. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 10, 570–582 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-014-9610-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-014-9610-3

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