Presumptive

Blood Tests
Questions Investigators Ask
Is the stain blood?
Is the stain human blood?
If it is human, whos blood is it?
Where did the stain come from
(height, angle, weapon, etc)?

Presumptive Blood Tests
This type of test answers the
questionis the is stain blood?
These tests are presumptive in
nature, meaning the results of the
test will not conclusively prove or
disprove the presence of blood.
Kastle-Meyer Test- How it Works
The hemoglobin in blood has a
peroxidase-like activity.
Peroxidases are enzymes that break
down organic compounds (hemoglobin),
when combined with hydrogen peroxide
(H
2
O
2
).

Kastle-Meyer Test- How it Works
Add hydrogen peroxide (H
2
O
2
) to blood
sample.
The HEME in our blood will break the H
2
O
2

apart, into water and an oxygen free radical.
HEME can break apart the H
2
O
2
because it acts
like a peroxidase.
The KM solution is phenolphthalein (color-
indicator) and Potassium hydroxide (KOH) and
is OXYGEN STARVED!!
Kastle-Meyer Test- How it Works
The KM is badly in want of oxygen, and
there's a lonely oxygen radical floating
around, un-spoken for...
The oxygen radical "hooks up" with the
KM reagent. The oxygen radical
oxidizes the KM, and this oxidation
causes the KM to turn pink.
Hence, when the KM solution comes in
contact with blood, it turns pink!
Kastle-Meyer Test- How it Works

Problems with KM
Not specific
Some vegetables can produce the same
color change.
Why doesnt this matter as much for
forensic science?

Luminol
The central chemical in this reaction is
luminol - C
8
H
7
O
3
N
3.

It is a powdery yellow substance.
Criminalists mix the luminol powder with
other liquid chemicals (H
2
O
2
being one of
them) and pour the liquid into a spray
bottle.
Luminol

Luminol
The hydrogen peroxide and the luminol
are actually the principal players in the
chemical reaction, but in order to
produce a strong glow, they need a
catalyst to accelerate the process.
The mixture is actually detecting the
presence of such a catalyst, in this case
the iron in hemoglobin.

Luminol
To perform a luminol test, the
criminalists simply spray the mixture
wherever they think blood might be.
If hemoglobin and the luminol mixture
come in contact, the iron in the
hemoglobin accelerates a reaction
between the hydrogen peroxide and the
luminol.

Luminol
Typically, luminol only shows that there
might be blood in an area, since other
substances, including household bleach,
can also cause the luminol to glow.
Luminol in itself won't usually solve a
murder case.
Luminol
The iron in the HEME catalyzes the reaction.
The reaction causes luminol to gain 3 O atoms,
while losing a N and a H.
This produces a compound called 3-
aminophthalate.
The electrons in 3-aminophthalate are in an
excited state.
A blue light is emitted as the excited electrons
lose energy and fall back down to their ground
state.
Luminol
In some cases, luminol leads to more
evidence.
For example, if luminol detects trace amounts
of blood on a carpet, investigators may pull up
the carpet and discover a lot of visible blood
on the floorboards below.
The blue glow lasts for about 30 seconds
before it fades, so document the stain quickly!
Problems With Luminol
The chemical reaction can destroy other
evidence in the crime scene.
For this reason, investigators only use luminol
after exploring a lot of other options.
The police don't walk into a crime scene and
start spraying luminol on every visible surface.
Luminol is sensitive up to 300,000 diluted!

Hemastix
Very similar to the KM test, in that a color
change is produced.
Turns green upon the presence of blood.
Hospitals use them to test for urine in the
blood.