DNA resistance to radiation field: forensic genotyping in a radiological incident scenario

Abstract

The objective of nuclear forensic science is to link an event that involves a radioactive or nuclear material with the personal and material means that have facilitated it. This implies the collection and analysis of any physical evidence of the scene, both radioactive and nuclear material for its characterization as well as classical evidence like DNA, hair, fingerprints or blood. Collecting evidence in these circumstances can be potentially dangerous for the respondent due to the risk of radiation or radioactive contamination, so studying the stability of forensic evidence in the presence of radiation will allow taking a reasonable decision whether the probative utility that the evidence may have exceeds the dangers involved in its collection. In this context, this work addresses the resistance of classical forensic evidences to radiation. Thus, gamma post-irradiation results of DNA profiling from relevant biological samples are presented and discussed providing threshold values of radiation that, depending on the matrix, degrade DNA evidence.