Chow Y.S*, Tan, Lim Chin Chin, Michael Tay Ming Kiong
5th European Academy of Forensic Science conference,
Glasgow, United Kingdom, 9 Sep 2009, CS07. (poster presentation)
[abstract]
The aim of this project is to investigate the ability of the RSIDTM Saliva and the RSIDTM
Semen kits to detect saliva and semen stains which have been treated with chemical
enhancement agents. Saliva and semen are common human body fluids encountered at crime
scenes. Very often chemical enhancement agents with/without fixing agents are used at
scenes to enhance faint blood stains. Fixing agents are sometimes used to fix the bloodstains
to the surface, to prevent the blood from running when it is sprayed with the chemical
enhancement agent. The use of chemical enhancement agents may interfere with the ability of
the RSIDTM Saliva and Semen kits to detect saliva and semen stains. Thus, it is useful to
investigate if the ability to detect saliva and semen stains by these commercial test kits is
affected when the saliva and semen stains are pre-treated with enhancement agents. Currently,
there are no literature studies on the possible interferences of chemical enhancement agents
on the functionality of the RSIDTM Saliva and Semen kits. Most of the investigations on
these kits are comparison studies with other types of semen and saliva detection techniques in
terms of specificity, sensitivity and cross reactivity.