Concentrations of volatile substances in costal cartilage in relation to blood and urine – preliminary studies

Cieśla²,

Pilch-Kowalczyk³

et al. 2022

Processes

Cartilage tissue performs many functions in the human body. The diseases and injuries affecting it are prevalent due to its slow regeneration rate. However, cartilage tissue is exceptionally important for its auspicious use in forensic medicine due to its slow postmortem degradation rate. The presented review summarizes the latest research on cartilage tissues and their current and potential applications in forensic science. It also describes the most important studies on using cartilage and its microscopic and macroscopic analyses to estimate the deceased age and determine postmortem interval (PMI) values and the crime weapon. Additionally, the review describes attempts to isolate DNA from cartilage tissue for individual identification. The review also mentions recent, less abundant studies on the cartilage in forensic toxicology and genetics. It points out further directions and prospects for research development on cartilage tissue and its promising use in forensic medicine

Section: Forensic Toxicologymentioning

confidence: 65%

Cartilage Tissue in Forensic Science—State of the Art and Future Research Directions

Cieśla²,

Pilch-Kowalczyk³

et al. 2022

Processes

“…However, costal cartilage has been successfully used to detect nitrite ions in fatal sodium nitrite poisoning [ 24 ]. Additionally, costal cartilage, ethanol [ 25 ], and isopropanol [ 26 ] concentrations positively correlated with their concentrations in the blood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epiglottis Cartilage, Costal Cartilage, and Intervertebral Disc Cartilage as Alternative Materials in the Postmortem Diagnosis of Methanol Poisoning

Chełmecka

Głaz

et al. 2023

Toxics

Alternative materials for postmortem diagnosis in the case of fatal poisonings are much needed when standard materials, such as blood and urine, are unavailable. The study presents a case of fatal mass methanol intoxication resulting from industrial alcohol consumption. The study aimed to determine methanol and formic acid concentrations in epiglottis cartilage, costal cartilage, and intervertebral disc cartilage and to analyze the correlation between their concentrations in cartilage tissues and the femoral blood. Methanol and formic acid concentrations in samples collected from 17 individuals (n = 17) were estimated using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID). Methanol concentration in the costal cartilage correlated with its concentration in the femoral blood (r = 0.871). Similar correlations were found for epiglottis cartilage (r = 0.822) and intervertebral disc cartilage (r = 0.892). Formic acid concentration in the blood correlated only with its concentration in urine (r = 0.784) and the epiglottis (r = 0.538). Cartilage tissue could serve as an alternative material for methanol analyses in postmortem studies. Formic acid, a methanol metabolite, does not meet the requirements for its presence determination in cartilage tissues.

“…So far, it has been used for age prediction based on differences in the pigmentation of its cross-section [1], CT images [2], and using the aspartic acid racemization method [3,4]. Additionally, it has been used for ethanol [5] and other volatile substances [6] or sodium nitrite [7] detection. Cartilage tissue can also be used for DNA profiling [8,9], even in highly charred cadavers [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The intervertebral discs’ fibrocartilage as a DNA source for genetic identification in severely charred cadavers

Forensic Sci Med Pathol

Droździok

Banaszek

et al. 2022

Self Cite

Identifying charred human remains poses a challenge to forensic laboratories. High temperature completely incinerates the superficial tissues and partially destroys bones, forcing the forensics to seek an alternative, for bones and teeth, forensic material that should quickly and cheaply deliver DNA of sufficient quantity and quality. We sought, other than rib cartilage, types of cartilages that could serve as a DNA source. DNA was isolated from the fibrous cartilage of a fibrous ring of intervertebral L1-L2 discs sampled from charred cadavers or charred body fragments: 5 victims of car fires, 1 victim of combustion during a residential house gas explosion, and 3 victims of nitroglycerin explosion. DNA was isolated by the column method. DNA quality and concentration were assessed by RT-PCR and multiplex PCR for 23 autosomal and 17 Y chromosome STR loci. STR polymorphism results obtained by capillary electrophoresis served for likelihood ratio (LR) calculations. DNA concentration in relation to the cadaver’s age and post-mortem interval (PMI) were analyzed. All samples (n = 9) yielded good-quality DNA in quantities (0.57–17.51 ng/µL for T. Large autosomal sequence) suitable for STR-based amplification. The isolated DNA characterized a low degradation index (0.80–1.99), and we were able to obtain complete genetic profiles. In each of the nine cases, the genotyping results allowed identifying the victims based on comparative material from the immediate family. The results demonstrate the usefulness of human intervertebral disc fibrocartilage as an alternative DNA source for the genetic identification of charred bodies or charred torso fragments.