Partners in Postmortem Interval Estimation: X-ray Diffraction and Fourier Transform Spectroscopy

Author:

Rubio Leticia123ORCID,Suárez Juan123ORCID,Martin-de-las-Heras Stella13ORCID,Zapico Sara C.24ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Departamento de Anatomía Humana, Medicina Legal e Historia de la Ciencia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain

2. Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Tiernan Hall 365, Newark, NJ 07102, USA

3. Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga-IBIMA, 29590 Málaga, Spain

4. Department of Anthropology, NMNH-MRC 112, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA

Abstract

The postmortem interval (PMI) is difficult to estimate in later stages of decomposition. There is therefore a need to develop reliable methodologies to estimate late PMI. This study aims to assess whether there is a correlation between changes in the mineral composition of human teeth and the estimation of PMI. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy techniques were performed to address this challenge. Forty healthy human teeth obtained from odontological clinics were stored at different times (0, 10, 25, 50 years; N = 10/group). XRD and ATR-FTIR parameters related to the structure and composition of teeth were studied. Our results showed that the crystallinity index, crystal size index, mineral-to-organic matrix ratio (M/M) and carbonate/phosphate ratio (C/P) had the strongest association with PMI. For larger PMIs, there was a significant increase in crystallinity, crystal size and M/M ratio, while the C/P ratio showed a specific decrease with increasing PMI. According to our results, the parameters of crystallinity, crystal size, M/M ratio and C/P ratio can be considered highly accurate in determining a PMI of 10 years of data; crystallinity and mineral maturity can be considered useful in determining a PMI of 25 years; and crystallinity and mineral maturity can be considered highly accurate in determining a PMI of 50 years. A particular XRD index was identified as the most suitable parameter to estimate PMI: crystallinity. The joint use of XRD and ATR-FTIR analyses could be a promising alternative for dating human teeth.

Funder

Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program, United States Department of State and Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional

Universidad de Málaga

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

Inorganic Chemistry,Organic Chemistry,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry,Computer Science Applications,Spectroscopy,Molecular Biology,General Medicine,Catalysis

Reference48 articles.

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3. Shrestha, R., Kanchan, T., and Krishan, K. (2023, March 30). Methods of Estimation of Time Since Death. [Updated 15 May 2022], StatPearls, Available online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK549867/.

4. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectral prediction of postmortem interval from vitreous humor samples;Zhang;Anal. Bioanal. Chem.,2018

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