Citation

Warren MW, Falsetti AB, Kravchenko II, Dunnam FE, Van Rinsvelt HA, Maples WR. Forensic Sci. Int. 2002; 125(1): 37-41.

Affiliation

Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, 1112 Turlington Hall, P.O. Box 117305, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA. mwarren@ufl.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11852200

Abstract

Proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) is a spectroscopic technique that provides the researcher with the elemental composition of a given target material. In this paper, we illustrate the utility of PIXE analysis in two forensic contexts: (1) case of cremation in which the nature of the remains is questioned and (2) cases of death by gunshot wound. In the first case, elemental analysis by PIXE reveals that the purported cremated remains are not bone. The last two cases show that radiopaque metallic residue embedded in bone is composed of lead from a projectile.

Language: en