ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 November 1987
Page Count: 14

Electrophoresis Reliability: I. The Contaminant Issue
Budowle, B
Research chemist, Forensic Science Research and Training Section, Laboratory Division, FBI Academy, VA

Allen, RC
Full professor, Medical University of South Carolina, SC

(Received 15 January 1987; accepted 6 April 1987)

Abstract

The effects of the common contaminants—soil, oil, gasoline, salt, acid, base, bleach, and detergent—on various forensically used genetic marker systems were studied. The predicted effects of the various contaminants on the proteins and the electrophoretic separations agreed with the observed results. A contaminant that affected protein conformation also adversely affected the integrity of the electrophoretic system, thus signalling an anomaly. It also was pointed out that the ideal control study for the effects of contaminants on genetic markers in evidentiary material is often provided to forensic scientists—that is victim's blood on victim's clothing and other substrata. The data presented in this paper support the validity and reliability of electrophoretic analyses of evidentiary material with respect to the contaminant issue.

Keywords:
forensic science, electrophoresis, reliability, validity, isoelectric focusing, contaminant, evidentiary material, blood

Paper ID: JFS11213J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS11213J
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