The optimum skeletal element and bone tissue type to select for maximum nuclear DNA yield has been recently investigated. We employed X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to evaluate the elemental composition (atomic percentage) of cancellous and cortical bone tissue types to: (1) evaluate the use of XPS for surface chemistry analysis of cancellous bone tissue/medullary contents as a novel approach to discriminate biological tissues from diagenetic infiltrations (e.g., soil) among trabeculae, and (2) present the methodology as a potential tool for refining bone sample selection for nuclear DNA analysis. XPS data from modern bone specimens (n = 46) confirmed that cortical-dominant bones contained higher elemental composition of oxygen (p = 0.012), calcium (p < 0.0001), and phosphorous (p < 0.0001) and lower amounts of carbon (p < 0.0001) relative to cancellous-dominant samples. Data were presented as a ratio of carbon to calcium + phosphorus, revealing higher carbon content and lower calcium/phosphorus in cancellous- versus cortical-dominant bones (ratios of 20.0 ± 11.3 and 8.6 ± 5.6, respectively (p < 0.0001)). Results indicated that primarily cancellous bones contain higher amounts of soft tissue which explains their yielding higher-quality nuclear DNA. We further hypothesized that aluminum is a suitable elemental marker for soil infiltration. One buried donor had visibly soil-stained bones, with a cuneiform exhibiting detectable aluminum content (1.0% versus ∼3.8% in a location-matched soil control). Our results shed new light on the relationship between nuclear DNA yield and cancellous bone/medullary contents, thus informing bone-sample selection for nuclear DNA analysis in forensic contexts.
(Publisher abstract provided.)
Downloads
Similar Publications
- Effect of yarn structure on wicking and its impact on bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA) on woven cotton fabrics
- Step toward Roadside Sensing: Noninvasive Detection of a THC Metabolite from the Sweat Content of Fingerprints
- Revisiting the STRmix™ likelihood ratio probability interval coverage considering multiple factors