Amino acid dating forensic science

Bone, shell, and sediment studies have contributed much to the paleontological record, including that relating to hominoids.Verification of radiocarbon and other dating techniques by amino acid racemization and vice versa has occurred.The differentiation of cooked from uncooked bone, shell, and residue is sometimes possible.Human cultural changes and their effects on local ecologies have been assessed using this technique.These have produced models of protein adhesive and other biopolymer deteriorations and the concurrent pore system development.

Alternatively, the particular amino acid can be separated by chromatography or electrophoresis, combined with a metal cation, and the D: L ratio determined by mass spectrometry.The slight reduction in this repair capability during aging is important to studies of longevity and old age tissue breakdown disorders, and allows the determination of age of living animals.Amino acid racemization also has a role in tissue and protein degradation studies, particularly useful in developing museum preservation methods.This means that the amino acid can have two different configurations, "D" or "L" which are mirror images of each other.With a few important exceptions, living organisms keep all their amino acids in the "L" configuration.