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Evaluating the Use of Synthetic Replicas for SEM Identification of Bloodstains (with Emphasis on Archaeological and Ethnographic Artifacts)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2015

Policarp Hortolà
Policarp Hortolà*
Affiliation:
Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya 35, ES-43002 Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Carrer de Marcel·lí Domingo s/n, Edifici W3 Campus Sescelades, ES-43007 Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain
*
*Corresponding author. policarp.hortola@urv.cat
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Abstract

Some archaeological or ethnographic specimens are unavailable for direct examination using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) due to methodological obstacles or legal issues. In order to assess the feasibility of using SEM synthetic replicas for the identification of bloodstains (BSs) via morphology of red blood cells (RBCs), three fragments of different natural raw material (inorganic, stone; plant, wood; animal, shell) were smeared with peripheral human blood. Afterwards, molds and casts of the bloodstained areas were made using vinyl polysiloxane (VPS) silicone impression and polyurethane (PU) resin casting material, respectively. Then, the original samples and the resulting casts were coated with gold and examined in secondary-electron mode using a high-vacuum SEM. Results suggest that PU resin casts obtained from VPS silicone molds can preserve RBC morphology in BSs, and consequently that synthetic replicas are feasible for SEM identification of BSs on cultural heritage specimens made of natural raw materials. Although the focus of this study was on BSs, the method reported in this paper may be applicable to organic residues other than blood, as well as to the surface of other specimens when, for any reason, the original is unavailable for an SEM.

Keywords

blood smearserythrocytesscanning electron microscopyhaemotaphonomyspecimen preparation
Type
Biological Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 21 , Issue 6 , December 2015 , pp. 1504 - 1513
Copyright
© Microscopy Society of America 2015 

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