Ante- and post-mortem human volatiles for disaster search and rescue

Abstract

Ante-mortem metabolic processes are responsible for the release of volatile organic compounds, which form the primary component of human scent and are used by search-and-rescue canines in victim location efforts. Similarly, the post-mortem processes of autolysis and putrefaction produce malodourous compounds that cadaver detection dogs use to locate human remains. This review examines literature on ante-mortem and post-mortem volatiles, with a focus on studies from 2010 onwards. A total of 973 different compounds were reported over this period, from the live matrices blood (65), breath (124), fingernails (17), hair (24), saliva (343), skin (385), sweat (37), urine (80), the whole body (86), and unspecified sources (31), and during early decomposition (321), middle decomposition (49), late decomposition (102), and an unspecified timeframe (113). There are notably more studies examining the matrices from living volunteers than decedents, and methods vary significantly between studies on living and deceased individuals in sampling methodology and analytical instrumentation. To establish a profile that accurately reflects the whole human volatilome, the standardisation of methodology and further research are required. Determining the complete human odour profile will assist in victim location where living and deceased individuals are commingled (e.g. disaster sites), and will inform future technologies to aid in accelerating search-and-rescue operations.