Mass spectrometry applications in Forensic Entomology.

 

Stefano Vanin

 

School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate HD1 3DH Hudderfsield, UK; GIEF Gruppo Italianodi Entomologia Forense. Email: stefano.vanin@hud.ac.uk

 

Forensic entomology is the branch of forensic sciences in which insects are used as evidence in legal investigations related to humans or wildlife. The examination, identification and analysis of the insects associated with human remains, combined with the knowledge of insect biology and the meteorological parameters, especially the temperature, can provide a further level of detail in addition to medical and anthropological data in the reconstruction of the events occurred close to the death. In particular, necrophagous insects are useful for the Post-Mortem Interval (PMI) estimation, the post-mortem transfer discovery and for the detection of drugs or poisons if soft tissues are no longer available. In order to answer these questions analytical analyses based also on GC/MS showed their potential in three main domains: 1) Species identification of immature developmental stages 2) Age identification of immature stages and 3) Detection of drugs from insects and insect remains collected from the body or from the crime scene. The first two approaches have been applied mainly focusing on cuticular hydrocarbons, whereas the third one give birth to a discipline called “Entomotoxicology”. The aims of this branch of the knowledge is not only the identification, via analytical methods, of the ingested drugs but as well the understanding of the drug effect on insect development. This point is crucial for the estimation of the minimum time since death on drug abusers. The role of the mass spectrometry in forensic entomology has not yet completely investigated and exploited at the maximum of its potential. In future, a higher interdisciplinary collaboration between analytical and forensic scientists is recommended.