Presented by Ni cole Novroski at the 64th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, February 20-25, 2012, in Atlanta, GA.
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Technical Note
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The Evaluation of Possible False Positives with Detergents when Performing Amylase Serological Testing on Clothing†‡
Article first published online: 4 SEP 2012
DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2012.02267.x
© 2012 American Academy of Forensic Sciences
Issue
Journal of Forensic Sciences
Special Issue: The American Academy of Forensic Sciences and Wiley-Blackwell have published this supplement without fi nancial support
Volume 58, Issue Supplement s1, pages S183–S185, January 2013
Additional Information
How to Cite
Feia, A. and Novroski, N. (2013), The Evaluation of Possible False Positives with Detergents when Performing Amylase Serological Testing on Clothing. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 58: S183–S185. doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2012.02267.x
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Funded by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Publication History
- Issue published online: 10 JAN 2013
- Article first published online: 4 SEP 2012
- Manuscript Accepted: 5 NOV 2011
- Manuscript Revised: 1 NOV 2011
- Manuscript Received: 20 JUL 2011
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- forensic science;
- α-amylase;
- detergent;
- serology;
- RSID™-Saliva;
- Phadebas® Amylase Test
Abstract
For almost 40 years, detergent companies have been adding enzymes such as amylases to their products as an effective method of breaking down tough stains created by polysaccharides and proteins. The possibility that α-amylases present in common household laundry detergents may contribute to the positive detection of α-amylase on evidentiary samples during forensic presumptive screening procedures is a potential problem that has not yet been investigated. To determine whether α-amylase detection is possible following routine laundering, five different fabrics were laundered in a variety of detergents, and presumptive testing using RSID™-Saliva and Phadebas® Amylase Test was conducted. Our results demonstrate that clothing laundered in detergents known to contain enzymes does not retain any detectable levels of α-amylase following a typical wash cycle. We also show that, unlike laundered clothing, undiluted detergents do contain detectable levels of α-amylase; however, these findings were only observed using the Phadebas® Amylase Test.