Finally, a completely unrelated method to the ones previously
mentioned has also been used to identify semen stains but is not as
popular when compared to SAP tests. It applies scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis to
the detection of sodium, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, potassium,
calcium, and other metal trace elements. These elements occur in
varying proportions among different body fluids, and identifying
an unknown stain’s element ratio will distinguish it from other
fluids. Chlorine was the largest peak detected in the semen
samples, but calcium can be used as an identification marker. The
method was flawed, however, since the substrate spectrum will
dominate the fluid spectrum, and subtraction of the substrate will
also remove peaks from the fluid that are present in both. In the
end, this method will work best to identify one fluid stain as being
identical to another [69]. This technique can only be classified as
presumptive due to the interference of the substrate.
with the potato and horseradish as it has been used to study vegetable peroxidase reactions, such as the horseradish peroxidase reaction (30), and Albrecht noted that fresh potato juice caused
luminescence (16). This could once again be due to the substances’ drying time before testing.