Wageningen University and RIKILT – Institute of Food Safety (both part of Wageningen UR) are initiating a new national forensic research project. It is one of nine research proposals that have been granted funding by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
The research will focus on chemical evidence in hairs. In case of drug use, for example, some of the drug ends up in the hair of the person in question. However, it is difficult to substantiate this in court because the residues could also have got onto the hairs from outside. Wageningen UR is aiming to demonstrate by means of a ‘chemical microscope’ that the residues are not on the hair but in them. To this end, RIKILT’s experience with hair studies is being combined with the unique surface analysis facilities of the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry of Wageningen University.
Besides Wageningen UR, FOM/AMOLF from Amsterdam and TMFI from Maastricht are collaborating on the research.
The research proposal ‘Chemical evidence in hairs’ by Wageningen UR is part of the NWO ‘Forensic Science’ programme. In total, 3.5 million euros are available for the nine research proposals.