Proteomic Characterization of Damaged Single Hairs Recovered After an Explosion for Protein-Based Human Identification

The study assessed the impact of an explosive blast on the protein composition of human hair and its implications for forensic identification. Despite the potential for damage, the research found that the hair proteome, particularly genetically variant peptides (GVPs) used for identification, remained largely intact after an explosion. The study confirmed that certain keratins and keratin-associated proteins showed signs of degradation, which indicated cuticular damage, as also seen in scanning electron microscopic analysis. However, this damage did not prevent successful proteome profiling of single hairs or the identification of GVPs, which was found to be consistent regardless of the hair's exposure to explosive conditions. The proteomics data was deposited in the ProteomeXchange Consortium under the identifier PXD017427. The results suggest that protein-based human identification using GVP analysis is a viable method for forensic analysis of hair recovered from explosion sites, maintaining similar discriminative power as undamaged hair.