Resumen de The stability of collected human scent under various environmental conditions
Davia T. Hudson, Allison M. Curran, Kenneth G. Furton
Human scent evidence collected from objects at a crime scene is used for scent discrimination with specially trained canines. Stor-age of the scent evidence is usually required yet no optimized storage protocol has been determined. Storage containers including glass, polyethylene,and aluminized pouches were evaluated to determine the optimal medium for storing human scent evidence of which glass was determined to be theoptimal storage matrix. Hand odor samples were collected on three different sorbent materials, sealed in glass vials and subjected to different storageenvironments including room temperature, )80C conditions, dark storage, and UVA ⁄ UVB light exposure over a 7-week period. Volatile organiccompounds (VOCs) in the headspace of the samples were extracted and identified using solid-phase micro-extraction–gas chromatography ⁄ massspectrometry (SPME–GC ⁄ MS). Three-dimensional covariance mapping showed that glass containers subjected to minimal UVA ⁄ UVB light exposureprovide the most stable environment for stored human scent samples
