MODULE 1

INTRODUCTION TO
FORENSIC CHEMISTRY

OVERVIEW
This module provides basic knowledge on forensic chemistry, history of forensic, scope,
relation to other forensic fields and laws, and court presentation.

OBJECTIVES
  To be able to define forensic chemistry
  To be able to know the history of forensic
  To be able to know the scope of forensic chemistry
  To be able to relate forensic chemistry to other forensic field and laws
  To be able to present the case in court

SCOPE
1. Forensic Chemistry
2. History of Forensic
3. Scope of Forensic Chemistry
4. Other Fields of Forensic and Laws
5. Court Presentation

ACTIVITY
  Online / On-site quiz

FORENSIC CHEMISTRY

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 “If the law has made you a witness, remain a man of science. You have no victim to
avenge, no guilty or innocent person to convict or save - you must bear testimony within the
limits of science.”
- Dr. P. C. H. Brouardel

Forensic - scientific methods of solving crimes, involving examining the objects or substances
that are involved in the crime, and provide information about a crime or relating to legal cases

Chemistry - study of composition of matter and the changes it undergoes

Forensic Chemistry - application of chemistry principles and examination techniques to

criminal investigation and legal conflicts

In criminal investigation, it involves methods used to collect and preserve evidence to

complex chemical examinations used to identify substances. The ability of the forensic chemist
is important in conducting examination because of the destructive nature of some instruments
and the vast possibility of unknown substances that can be found at a crime scene. It is preferred
to use non-destructive techniques first to preserve the evidence and to determine which
destructive methods produce the best results.

HISTORY OF FORENSIC
YEAR CONTRIBUTION
1590s Zacharias Janssen develops first compound light microscope
1784 First use of fracture edge matching/pattern matching in John Toms’ case
1810 Konigin Handschrift document dye analyzed by chemical test
1828 William Nichol invents polarized light microscope
1835 Charles Wheatstone invents emission spectroscopy
1836 James Marsh develops test for arsenic and it is used in a jury trial
1858 Johann Peter Griess develops test for nitrites
1867 Alfred Nobel receives US patent for his invention of dynamite
1880 Henry Faulds suggests using fingerprints on clay and glass to solve crimes
1883 K. Mandelin develops test for strychnine later applied to alkaloids
1885 Theodore Wormley publishes book Micro-chemistry of Poisons

1889 Alexander Lacassagne matches bullets using land and grooves to a gun barrel

1891 Hans Gross describes the use of physical evidence in solving crimes in his book and

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 coins the term Criminalistics
1892 Francis Galton publishes first book on fingerprints

1894 Alphonse Bertillon’s handwriting analysis is used to convict Alfred Dreyfus (falsely)

1898 J. J. Thomson measures mass-to-charge ratio of the electron

 Will West prison case solved using latent fingerprints
1903
 M. S. Tswett separates plant pigments using paper chromatography
1906 Pres. T. Roosevelt signs US Pure Food and Drugs Act signed into law
1910 Albert Sherman Osborn publishes Questioned Documents
1915 First use of chemical weapons
Francis Aston builds the first fully functional mass spectrometer and later uses it to
1919
discover 212 naturally occurring isotopes
 Geneva Protocol signed that prohibits use of chemical and biological weapons
1928 in war
 C. V. Raman develops Raman spectroscopy
1930 Edmond Locard’s Principle
1930s Pierre Duquenois develops color test for THC
Glenn Seaborg, Joseph Kennedy, Edwin McMIllan, Emilio Segre and Arthur Wahl
1940
discover plutonium-239
First nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) spectra of liquids and solids by
1945
Felix Bloch and Edward Mills Purcell, independently
1948 Founding of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences
Archer John Porter Martin and Richard Laurence Millington Synge invent modern gas
1951
chromatography
1955 Modern flame atomic absorption spectrometer developed by Sir Alan Walsh
1962 Rachel Carson publishes book Silent Spring
1970 First meeting of the Society of Toxicology on Long Island
1973 GC-MS applications to analysis of drugs and metabolites
1974 Richard Ernst pioneers two-dimensional NMR COSY experiment
1974 SEM-EDX is applied to gunshot residue analysis
1977 Application of FT-IR in forensic science

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  Franz Hillenkamp and Michael Karas pioneer the matrix-assisted laser
desorption ionization-MS technique
1988
 Introduction of enzyme-multiplied immunoassay technique (EMIT) in forensic
toxicology

1991 Richard Ernst develops high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

1992 GC-IR is applied to forensic drug analysis

1996 Raman spectroscopy is introduced to forensic use
Scientific Working Group for the Analysis of Seized Drugs is created by the US
1997
National Institute of Standards and Technology
US FBI investigates Amerithrax case of deaths due to mailed letters containing anthrax
2001
spores

SCOPE OF FORENSIC CHEMISTRY

Forensic chemistry involves the application of chemistry principles in examining and
determining the physical and chemical properties, and identity of the following substances:

1. Dangerous drugs analysis

2. Gunpowder residue and bullet trajectory
3. Explosives and explosion investigation
4. Fire and arson investigation
5. Blood and blood stains
6. Semen
7. Hair and fibers
8. Other biological substances (saliva, urine, and feces) or body fluids
9. Soil analysis
10. Metallurgy and restoration of tampered serial numbers
11. Other trace evidence (tool marks, dust, dirt, debris)
12. Casting and moulage
13. UV examination
14. Glass fracture analysis and fragments
15. Inks and paper
16. Fake products
17. Nature of toxicology
18. Poisons and its kinds, types or classification
19. Antidotes and its types and process
20. Instrumentation in forensic chemistry and toxicology
21. DNA

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 OTHER FIELDS OF FORENSIC
1. Criminalistics - sometimes used synonymously with forensic science. It involves the
identification, collection, preservation, investigation, presentation and analysis of
physical evidence arising from criminal activity.
2. Forensic Pathology - conducted by a medical examiner or physician specially trained in
clinical and anatomic pathology whose function is to determine the cause and manner of
death in cases where the death occurred under suspicious or unknown circumstances. It
often involves autopsy or post-mortem examination of the body. 
3. Forensic Anthropology - the study of humans and their ancestors dealing with
identification of people who cannot be identified through soft tissue features. It analyzes
skeletal remains to determine if they are human, including the age, sex, height, and other
characteristics of the remains compared with those of the missing person in question. In
addition to this, is the reconstruction and identification of victims in mass casualties.
4. Forensic Odontology - sometimes called forensic dentistry. It is used to identify human
remains, including comparison of post-mortem and ante-mortem  x-rays of the teeth and
bitemarks.
5. Forensic Engineering - involves the testing of materials, products or structures that do
not function like they were designed or built to.
6. Toxicology - involves the chemical analysis of body fluids and tissues to determine if a
drug or poison is present.

RELATED LAWS
Studying forensic chemistry is applicable to criminal (revised penal code and special
penal laws), civil and administrative cases. Some of these special penal laws are:

1. RA 10586 or An Act Penalizing Persons Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol,

Dangerous Drugs, and Similar Substances, and for Other Purposes
2. RA 9165 or Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002
3. RA 8294 / RA 9516 or An Act Amending the Provisions of Presidential Decree No.
1866, as amended, Entitled “Codifying the Laws on Illegal/Unlawful Possession,
Manufacture, Dealing in, Acquisition or Disposition of Firearms, Ammunition or
Explosives or Instruments Used in the Manufacture of Firearms, Ammunition or
Explosives, and Imposing Stiffer Penalties for Certain Violations thereof, and for
Relevant Purposes”
4. RA 8293 or An Act Prescribing the Intellectual Property Code and Establishing the
Intellectual Property Office, Providing for its Powers and Functions, and for Other
Purpose

COURT PRESENTATION
The result of forensic chemistry examination is generally used in criminal investigation
and court presentation. Forensic chemist must not only knowledgeable in scientific and legal
concepts, but also in preparing a laboratory report and later on testify as expert witness.

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 Prior to this, a forensic chemist is involved in criminal investigation by way of:

1. Responding to crime scene. At the crime scene, a forensic chemist should know how to
recognize, collect and preserve evidence.
2. Analyzing evidence. This is the primary task of a forensic chemist. A specimen will be
submitted in the laboratory and it will be analyzed and a laboratory report will be
prepared.
3. Court testimony. A subpoena will be sent to the forensic chemist to appear and testify in
court as an expert witness. It is the most effective way to convey the manner and result of
examination before the judge, prosecution and defense.
a. Subpoena - an order issued by the Court at a specific date and place to give
testimony
b. Expert witness - often called to state conclusions and opinions on their area of
expertise because of their knowledge and skills
c. Ordinary witness - limited to first-hand observations and impressions stating
only facts and not normally permitted to give opinions. It only testify according to
what has been directly experienced through their five senses.

In addition to these, it must be showed that the evidence is in the same condition from the
moment it was seized until its court presentation. This is authenticated by a chain of custody. It is
a document and a process that shows the transfer of evidence from the custody of one person to
another.

REFERENCES
Elkins, Kelly M. 2019. Introduction to Forensic Chemistry. CRC Press.

Houck, Max M., Siegel, Jay A. 2010. Fundamentals of Forensic Science. Second Edition. Elsevier. MA, USA

Khan, JaVed I., Kennedy, Thomas J., Christian, Jr. Donnell R., Basic Principles of Forensic Chemistry.
Humana Press. New York, USA

Kobilinsky, Lawrence. 2012. Forensic Chemistry Handbook. Wiley & Sons, Inc., Publication. New Jersey,
USA

Siegel, Jay A. 2016. Forensic Science in Focus Forensic Chemistry Fundamentals and Applications. Wiley
Blackwell. West Sussex, UK

https://retsmedicin.ku.dk/billeder/RKA-billeder_DK_UK/RKA-maskine-756x300.jpg_copy

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/forensic

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