Department of Physics Aldo Pontremoli, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
LABANOF, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology and Odontology, Institute of Legal Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
Int J Legal Med. 2024 Nov;138(6):2587-2593. doi: 10.1007/s00414-024-03274-4. Epub 2024 Jun 20.
The analysis of traces of injuries can be difficult in cases of charred human remains since the alteration and fragmentation are high. The aim of this study is to explore the use of X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) technique as a screening tool for detecting and analyzing gunshot residues (GSR) on cremated and highly fragmented materials, as it is a technique that allows for fast qualitative investigations without altering the sample or requiring sample preparation. The study was carried out on two steps: firstly, on completed skeletonized bones to verify if GSR survive to burning; secondly, we considered a more realistic situation, in which soft tissues were present before the shooting. To this aim, nine adult bovine ribs, four retaining soft tissue, five completely skeletonized, were subjected to a shooting test using two types of 9 mm projectiles (jacketed and unjacketed bullets). The ribs were then burnt until complete calcination in an electric furnace. The entry wound of each rib was analyzed using XRF, revealing traces of GSR. The XRF analysis showed that all samples, except for one, contain Pb and/or Sb near the lesion. Furthermore, the samples hit by unjacketed bullets had a more significant presence of Pb in macroscopic yellow areas, which persisted when moving away from the gunshot. These findings could pave the way for the use of XRF technology, mostly when a fast and immediate scan must be done on osteologic materials by a conservative method.
对烧焦的人类遗骸进行损伤痕迹分析可能较为困难，因为这些遗骸通常会发生严重的变质和碎裂。本研究旨在探索使用 X 射线荧光（XRF）技术作为一种筛选工具，用于检测和分析火化后和高度碎裂的材料中的枪击残留物（GSR），因为该技术可在不改变样本或无需样本制备的情况下，快速进行定性调查。该研究分两步进行：首先，在完全骨化的骨骼上进行验证，以确定 GSR 是否能在燃烧中幸存；其次，我们考虑了一种更现实的情况，即射击前存在软组织。为此，我们使用两种类型的 9 毫米弹丸（有被甲弹和无被甲弹）对 9 根成人牛肋骨进行射击测试，其中 4 根保留了软组织，5 根完全骨化。然后，将肋骨放入电炉中直至完全火化。使用 XRF 对每根肋骨的入口伤口进行分析，显示出 GSR 的痕迹。XRF 分析表明，除了一个样本外，所有样本在损伤附近都含有 Pb 和/或 Sb。此外，被无被甲弹击中的样本在宏观黄色区域中具有更显著的 Pb 存在，且这种存在在远离枪击点时仍然存在。这些发现为 XRF 技术的应用铺平了道路，尤其是在需要通过保守方法对骨骼材料进行快速即时扫描时。
