A Genetic Electrophoretic Variant of High-Sulfur Hair Proteins for Forensic Hair Comparisons: Practical Application of Electrophoretic Analysis of Hair Protein to Forensic Hair Comparisons

The study explored the use of electrophoretic analysis of high-sulfur hair proteins for forensic hair comparisons, focusing on the effects of weathering and cosmetic treatments. It was found that typical cosmetic treatments like permanent waving, dyeing, and bleaching, as well as weathering for up to 2 years, did not significantly alter the electrophoretic patterns of hair. However, weathering beyond 2.5 years made pattern determination challenging. The research demonstrated that capillary gel disc electrophoresis of a single 5 cm hair strand could effectively provide a multiple protein pattern analysis, which was successfully applied in a forensic case.