Cheating on Forensic Hair Testing? Detection of Potential Biomarkers for Cosmetically Altered Hair Samples Using Untargeted Hair Metabolomics
January 2020
in “
Analyst
”
TLDR Researchers found markers that can tell if hair has been bleached, which could improve hair test accuracy.
In 2020, researchers conducted a study to identify potential biomarkers in cosmetically altered hair samples. The hair samples were treated with 9% hydrogen peroxide for 30 minutes and analyzed using liquid-chromatography high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The study identified 69 metabolites that were significantly altered after hair bleaching, with most decreasing in concentration. The formation of biomarker ratios of metabolites that decreased and increased in concentrations improved the discrimination of untreated and treated hair samples. The study concluded that the identified biomarkers could be included into routine screening methods for improved data interpretation of hair test results. However, further studies with higher numbers of hair samples were needed to test the routine applicability in more sensitive targeted approaches and to determine general detection rates of endogenous biomolecules, selectivity, and specificity.
