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Imaging mass spectrometry of elements in forensic cases by LA-ICP-MS

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Abstract

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was performed to map elements in thin formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections of two forensic cases with firearm and electrocution injuries, respectively. In both cases, histological examination of the wounded tissue regions revealed the presence of exogenous aggregates that may be interpreted as metallic depositions. The use of imaging LA-ICP-MS allowed us to unambiguously determine the elemental composition of the observed aggregates assisting the pathologist in case assessments. To the best of our knowledge, we demonstrate for the first time the use of imaging LA-ICP-MS as a complementary tool for forensic pathologists and toxicologists in order to map the presence of metals and other elements in thin tissue sections of post-mortem cases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Centre of Legal Medicine, Lausanne-Geneva, Switzerland

    Estelle Lauer, Max Villa, Morgane Jotterand, Raquel Vilarino, Marc Bollmann, Katarzyna Michaud, Silke Grabherr, Marc Augsburger & Aurélien Thomas

  2. Faculty of Biology and Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Aurélien Thomas

Authors
  1. Estelle Lauer
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  2. Max Villa
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  3. Morgane Jotterand
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  4. Raquel Vilarino
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  5. Marc Bollmann
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  6. Katarzyna Michaud
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  7. Silke Grabherr
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  8. Marc Augsburger
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  9. Aurélien Thomas
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aurélien Thomas.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. For this type of study, formal consent is not required. All samples of deceased subjects were collected on request and in agreement with judicial authorities during autopsies made in our institute.

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Lauer, E., Villa, M., Jotterand, M. et al. Imaging mass spectrometry of elements in forensic cases by LA-ICP-MS. Int J Legal Med 131, 497–500 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-016-1414-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-016-1414-4

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