A Simple Histochemical Technique for the Identification of Gunshot Residue

Abstract

Alizarin red S (ARS) is a commonly used organic dye useful in the histologic identification of calcium deposits. ARS also forms colored reaction products with other metal ions, including barium and lead, which are present in primer residue. In histochemical studies. ARS is shown to identify primer residues from several manufacturers as well as primer residue deposited in tissue, either experimentally or in close-range gunshot wounds. This can be easily accomplished with routine histologic techniques. ARS does not stain gunpowder residue, tattoo pigment, melanin, graphite, india ink, or anthracotic pigment.

Estimation of the firing distance through micro-CT analysis of gunshot wounds

“…Discussion GSR analysis has been widely studied in the forensic literature for the estimation of the firing range [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Although animal models (pig [19,21,22] or goat [6,10]) have been mainly used in experimental investigations of firearm injuries, wounds in animals are not directly comparable to those in human beings because of the differences in the thickness and structure of the skin and the subcutaneous tissue, especially, in terms of retracting properties [23].…”

“…In the last decades, several techniques have been used for the detection and identification of GSR particles in intermediate-range gunshot wounds [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. These experiments have clarified that the amount and spatial distribution of GSR on the skin surrounding the entrance wound is strictly correlated to the shooting distance [10,12].…”

“…Although histochemistry [9][10][11][12] and electron microscopy methods [17] are accurate and precise for estimating the firing distance, they require a labour intensive exercise, because each specimen has to be cut into several sections, and each section requires a microscopic analysis.…”

“…[7,8] and histochemical techniques (Alizarin Red S [6,9,10] or sodium rhodizonate [11,12] stainings). Other methods for characterising GSR include atomic absorption spectroscopy [13], neutron activation analysis [14,15], autoradiography [14], anodic stripping voltammetry [16], scanning electron microscopy [17] and 3-dimensional computed tomography [18,19].…”

Pulmonary embolisation of bone fragments from penetrating cranial gunshot wounds

“…Specimens were fixed in 10% formalin and embedded in paraffin, after which microtome-cut sections with a thickness of 2.5 μ were stained with haematoxylin-eosin (HE). Skin samples were sectioned and stained with Alizarin Red S (ARS), according to the method of Tschirhart et al [19], in order to identify the barium in the gunshot residues (GSR).…”