An analysis of systematic elemental changes in decomposing bone

Walden, Steven, Mulville, Jacqueline ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9392-3693, Rowlands, Jeffrey and Evans, Samuel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3664-2569 2018. An analysis of systematic elemental changes in decomposing bone. Journal of Forensic Sciences 63 (1) , pp. 207-213. 10.1111/1556-4029.13480

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Abstract

The aim of this pilot study was to investigate compositional changes in bone during decomposition. Elemental concentrations of barium, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc and phosphorus in porcine bone (as an experimental analog for human bone) were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The samples were taken from porcine bone subjected to shallow burial and surface depositions at 28-day intervals for a period of 140 days. Results indicated that ICP-OES elemental profiling has potential to be developed as a forensic test for determining whether a bone sample originates from the early stages of soft tissue putrefaction. Significant changes in iron, sodium and potassium concentrations were found over 140 days. These elements are known to be primarily associated with proteins and/or tissue fluids within the bone. Changes in their respective concentrations may therefore be linked to dehydration over time and in turn may be indicative of time since deposition.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Engineering History, Archaeology and Religion
Uncontrolled Keywords:	forensic science; anthropology; bone; decomposition; spectroscopy
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
ISSN:	0022-1198
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	8 June 2017
Date of Acceptance:	2 February 2017
Last Modified:	02 Nov 2022 11:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/101315

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