Bloodstain Pattern Analysis is a rapidly growing area of research in the forensic science field. It is not uncommon for blood to be present on surfaces such as clothing, furniture, carpet, and more, during the commission of a crime. . Research of how blood interacts with different porous surfaces, such as textiles and fabrics, is relatively unexplored in the field of forensic science. Prior to a bloodshed event in which blood may be deposited onto clothing, the fabric may have been laundered in a variety of ways. In this research, swatches of a 100% nylon, water resistant fabric were subjected to seventeen different laundering and soiling processes. The laundering products used included Tide® Liquid Laundry Detergent, Downy® Fabric Softener, Downy® Unstoppables In-Wash Scent Boosters, Bounce® Dryer Sheets, Clorox® Zero Splash Bleach Packs, and OxiClean™ Max Force Laundry Stain Remover. Soiling included wearing swatches of fabric and leaving them in direct sunlight. Whole human blood was inverted, vortexed, then transferred using a disposable transfer pipette. The sample was held 36 in./3 ft. above each sample at a 90-degree angle, using an apparatus made from a flat edge and a protractor to ensure consistency. Blood drops were deposited onto each swatch of fabric, photographed, and microscopically examined. The drip stains were measured and characteristics of the blood, fabric, and the interaction of the two were recorded. Results showed some trends, such as an increased breakdown of fabric structure when bleach was used, and an increase in wicking when treated with scent boosters. Overall, the results were varied in all comparisons.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/45558 |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| Creators | Harter, Hanna J. |
| Contributors | Botch-Jones, Sabra |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | Attribution 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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