Morphological details in bloodstain particles

• Microscopic bloodstain particles containing useful morphological details.
• Detailed structures from fabrics, skin and human hair.
• Largest particles from non-porous substrates and smooth hydrophobic fabrics.
• Small particles from blended fabrics with partial hydrophilic content.
• No particles from absorbent fabrics.

During the commission of crimes blood can be transferred to the clothing of the offender or on other crime related objects. Bloodstain particles are sub-millimetre sized flakes that are lost from dried bloodstains. The nature of these red particles is easily confirmed using spectroscopic methods. In casework, bloodstain particles showing highly detailed morphological features were observed. These provided a rationale for a series of experiments described in this work. It was found that the “largest” particles are shed from blood deposited on polyester and polyamide woven fabrics. No particles are lost from the stains made on absorbent fabrics and from those made on knitted fabrics. The morphological features observed in bloodstain particles can provide important information on the substrates from which they were lost.

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