Differentiation of vaginal cells from epidermal cells using morphological and autofluorescence properties: Implications for sexual assault casework involving digital penetration

This work explores morphological and autofluorescence differences between vaginal and epidermal cells detectable through Imaging Flow Cytometry (IFC), a non-destructive, high-throughput technique. These differences were used to build a predictive framework for classifying unknown cells as originatin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forensic science international. Genetics supplement series 2022-12, Vol.8, p.17-19
Main Authors: Ingram, Sarah, DeCorte, Arianna, Philpott, M. Katherine, Moldenhauer, Taylor, Stadler, Sonja, Steinberg, Cory, Millman, Jonathan, Ehrhardt, Christopher J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological mixtures
Digital penetration
Epidermal
Imaging flow cytometry
Sexual assault
Vaginal
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Summary:This work explores morphological and autofluorescence differences between vaginal and epidermal cells detectable through Imaging Flow Cytometry (IFC), a non-destructive, high-throughput technique. These differences were used to build a predictive framework for classifying unknown cells as originating from vaginal or epidermal tissue, which was tested on hand swabbings with and without digital penetration. Many more cells possessing a vaginal signature (median posterior probability ≥0.90) were detected in digital penetration samples than control hand swabbings. Minimum interpretation thresholds were developed to minimize/eliminate false positives; these thresholds were also effective when screening licked hands, indicating the potential utility of this method for a variety of biological mixture types and depositional events relevant to forensic casework.
ISSN:1875-1768
1875-175X
DOI:10.1016/j.fsigss.2022.09.007