“Hemascein®, was shown to outperform both Bluestar® and Luminol when used to detect burnt bloodstain patterns”- Study Presented at the 62nd AAFS Annual Meeting, 2010
“More than 10 years after the original homicidal event occurred, investigators retrieved the clothing from evidence and applied Hemascein to it. They noticed small reaction in small areas on the clothing. The lab was able to produce a full profile of human blood. Subsequently, the blood was matched d through a CODIS hit to ….” Bloodstains As Evidence: A Field Manual (Page 121)
“HemaScein® addresses the issue of health hazards and liability. A luminol application created substantial liability issue in a claim to purchase a vehicle and the payment of medical bills of an adult and children who were affected by the residue luminol left behind in the application to a vehicle interior. ….investigators reported burning to their hands and face after using luminol……. private citizens filed a claim and received compensation directly due to health issues arising from the use of luminol. … the jurisdiction of record bought motor vehicles that had been processed with luminol. Hemascein® does not present this liability issue of a residual hazardous material left behind at the scene. The author over the past 11 years in using fluorescein has never received a complaint from a citizen or investigator of direct health issues."– Sergeant Larry Barksdale, Lincoln Police Dept., USA
“Photography has always been an issue with luminol and similar products due to the need for long time exposures and continuous application to sustain the light emission. The constant needed to apply luminol products often causes running of the latent blood materials and loss of detail. Hemascein® offers a distinct advantage for capturing image detail by lessening the problem of overspray and maintaining a long lasting light emission”
“..in one case, it lasted 18 months on fingerprints found on a door” Bloodstains As Evidence: A Field Manual (Page 123)
“Hemascein® lasted longest of the three“
“A piece of red clothing had been processed by a state forensic lab and a federal forensic lab. Both labs reported no presence of blood on the clothing. The clothing was taken from storage after about ten years from the time of the original examination and examined with the application of fluorescein. There was a reaction area. This area was swabbed and sent for DNA analysis.A full DNA profile was gotten from this swab.”
“The author has used a five year old fluorescin preparation. It is not uncommon to use a 1-2 month preparation. Luminol rarely last more than 1 hour. All preparations, including fresh preparations, should be tested on a known exemplar prior to scene application. The long lasting fluorescence from fluorescein and the alternate light source intensity combine to allow immediate digital imagining of fluorescein reactions. Thus, additional materials not required to maintain a reaction as it is in the case of luminol. This allow a higher probability of detail with fluorescein reactions. The author has captured numerous shoe wear impressions that provided class characteristic comparison. It works on Cold Cases”
“Both luminol and Bluestar® reagents have a short shelf life and must be prepared just before use. Furthermore, the crime scene must be darkened in order to see the short-lived light emissions. Hemascein® is a fluorescein-based product which emits a fluorescence-based green light when excited with an intense blue-light source (12). One practical advantage of this reagent is the long shelf life of the working solution, several months..” Study Presented at the 62nd AAFS Annual Meeting, 2010
“..in addition, the light intensity values for blood tested with Hemascein either equaled or surpassed those of fluorescein. Moreover, the preparation of Hemascein requires less equipment and reagents, streamlining the method making it more user friendly.” Light-emitting Blood Enhancement Reagents: Comparison Study
“..This study indicates that not only does Hemascein show a greater sensitivity for liquid blood, detecting blood in a 1:80,000,000 dilution, it was also able to detect blood in stains that had been exposed to very high temperatures of a fire … Furthermore, the above results and the properties of Hemascein; high sensitivity, ease of use and long shelf life, suggest the potential benefit of using it to detect fire compromised bloodstains at crime scenes.”Light-emitting Blood Enhancement Reagents: Comparison Study
“We may have to discuss the independent delivery of ABAspray. Many officers and researchers are looking for this fine spraying tool.”
“I had the opportunity to use an ABA Spray recently and was very impressed. I'm looking into purchasing a number of these for use in the lab, is there an option to buy these separate from the Hemascein kit?.”
“Crime Scene personnel applied Hemascein® to the pathway leading to the area where they found the shoe imprints with an outsole similar to the impressions in the garage (See Figures CS4-6 through CS4-8). Numerous partial footwear impressions became visible after application of Hemascein®.” Bloodstains As Evidence: A Field Manual (page 118)
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