- Introduction
Learn- Try It
- Task
Learn
DNA and Blood Tests
Review the DNA and Blood Tests presentation below.
DNA and Blood Tests fullscreen version | DNA and Blood Tests text version
Note: The presentation may take a moment to load.
Presumptive Tests
Let’s take a closer look at some presumptive and confirmatory tests. Go the following websites to learn about two presumptive tests: Luminol test and Kastle-Meyer/Phenolphthalein color test.
- Chemistry World – Luminol
- Luminol: A Glow-in-the-Dark Reaction
- Kastle-Meyer/Phenolphthalein color test - You may read the section on this test and skip all other materials.
Watch the first two and a half minutes of LUMINOL UFRJ - Lasape IQ/UFRJ - Chemistry Institute (10:33 but only watch first 2:30) and Light Sensing (2:02) to see how luminol reacts in a lab.
Confirmatory Tests
The Takayama test will produce crystals if the sample is truly blood and then from there scientists can determine whether it is human or animal blood. If it is human blood the forensic scientist completes the DNA analysis and compares it to known DNA samples.
- Forensic Resources
- Scroll down to the section titled Blood
- Then under the heading Confirmatory Tests
- Read about the Takayama Test
- Then under the heading Confirmatory Tests
- Scroll down to the section titled Blood
