Citation

Valle F, Bianchi M, Tortorella S, Pierini G, Biscarini F, D'Elia M. Forensic Sci. Int. 2012; 222(1-3): 288-297.

Affiliation

Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (ISMN), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), via Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.forsciint.2012.07.005

PMID

22840283

Abstract

A novel application of replica molding to a forensic problem, viz. the accurate reproduction of the case head of gun and rifle cartridges, prior and after been shot, is presented. The fabrication of an arbitrary number of identical copies of the region hit by the firing pin and by the breech face is described. The replicas can be (i) handled without damaging the original evidence, (ii) distributed to different law enforcement agencies for comparison against other evidences found on crime scenes or ballistic tests of seized firearms, (iii) maintained on a file by the laboratories. A detailed analysis of the morphological features of the replicas has been carried out by standard microscopy techniques as well as by advanced microscopy such as scanning probe and scanning electron leading to a quantitative morphological characterization of the case heads down to the nanometer scale. The assignment of the cartridge replicas to the shooting weapon is demonstrated to hold below the micron scale, while it is hindered at the nanometer level both by the manufacturing differences and by eventual modifications occurring on the firing pin.

Language: en