WE HAVE MORE THAN 15 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN RESEARCH,
TEACHING AND DISSEMINATION OF SCIENCE IN SOCIETY.
CINQUIFOR is a mixed research group, based on three basic pillars:
Lines of research
If there is one word that can be applied to us it is, undoubtedly, interdisciplinarity. The wealth of knowledge and skills of the members that make up
CINQUIFOR means that not only has the group been able to position itself as a nationally and internationally recognised reference point, but also that it
enables a continuous flow of new ideas and fronts to be explored.
“It is our interdisciplinary and translational character that defines us”.
The group is currently working on numerous and varied lines of research, as well as exploring others throughout our research stage. Social needs and
resources change; therefore, we are a dynamic and versatile group.
Problems under study
Other techniques
Due to our previous experience and current collaborations, we
also contribute with electrophoretic and chromatographic
techniques (HPLC, ion chromatography, high performance thin
layer chromatography and gas chromatography) for the analysis
of explosives and other samples of criminalistic interest
(explosive residues, fire residues, toxics, drugs and documents),
and with atomic and molecular mass spectrometry approaches
for the analysis of toxics and explosives.
Microscopy and imaging
Microscopy and imaging techniques for the investigation of
samples of chemical, medical and forensic interest (biophotonic
emission, explosives, GSR, biological fluids, bones,
immobilization of enzymes and metals in polymeric matrices).
Spectroscopy
Vibrational spectroscopy approaches (Raman spectroscopy,
Surface Enhanced Raman (SERS), using metal nanoparticle
colloids, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) for the
investigation of explosive residues (including gunshot residues,
GSR) and precursors to explosives, biological fluids, toxins,
documents and inks, bones, heavy metal contamination of
sediments and soils, immobilisation of enzymes and metals in
polymeric matrices and pharmaceuticals.
Chemometrics
Multivariate analysis strategies, data mining and artificial
intelligence for the identification of substances and objects, as
well as the interpretation of various types of data of chemical
and forensic interest.
Scientific tools to address them
CINQUIFOR is essentially made up of investigators from different disciplines and with extensive experience in chemical, forensic, biological,
pharmaceutical and food technology sciences, and with collaborators from various forensic institutions, such as the Guardia Civil's Criminalistics
Service, the Scientific Police Headquarters and the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences. It also has agreements with the Canary
Islands Institute of Criminological Analysis (ICAC); the law firm Prada & Rey Penal; the Italian Studio Indagini Mediche E Forensi (SIMEF); the Escola
Superior Agrária de Elvas (ECAC) of the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre and the Centre for Animal Knowledge (CPCA), both of which are
Portuguese; and has the support of various private companies that are committed to the forensic area and support its research and training activities,
highlighting the contribution of Thermo Fisher Scientific, with which it also has a sponsorship agreement and which has promoted
economically the realization of various events.
Our purpose is to supply with knowledge to the Chemical and Forensic Sciences, investigating scientific solutions to problems in
chemistry and criminalistics. We investigate from new, risky and promising approaches, seeking to solve real problems in these
areas of knowledge.
The role of drugs
Epidemiological and sociological study of drug-
facilitated sexual assaults (DFSA) in youth and
nightlife leisure.
Sexual assault
Maximizing semen collection from pads through
chemical and shredding treatments. Multi-target
methodology for screening blood samples in drug-
facilitated sex crimes (DFSA).
.
Psychoactive substances (licit and illicit use)
Screening and study of toxic substances in
biological samples to determine if they are involved
in crimes, for example, drug-facilitated sexual
assaults (DFSA)
Drugs of abuse
New methods of detection of drugs in body
fluids, stashes and plants. Detection of New
Psychoactive Substances (NPS).
Persistent pain
Use of ultra-weak biophotonic emission as an
objective analytical measure for monitoring
patients with persistent pain.
Depression
New methods of detection of depressive states
through ultra-weak photon emission (UPE).
Document study
Chemical composition of inks to study the crossing of overlapping lines. Dating
of documents to estimate the date of writing.
Gunshot residues and explosives
Estimation of the shooting distance by X-ray diffraction and multivariate
analysis. Trace detection of explosive residues by Raman spectroscopy.
Adhesion of explosive residue to finger, clothing and luggage.
And those to come…
Carmen García Ruiz
Head of CINQUIFOR
✓ We study samples of chemical and forensic interest using vibrational
spectroscopy (Raman and IR) and hyperspectral imaging
✓ We interpret data of chemical and forensic interest through
chemometric tools
✓ We analyze samples of chemical and forensic interest using
electrophoretic, chromatographic and spectrometric techniques
Definition
The emission of human biophotons or UPE (ultra-weak photon emission) is visually undetectable because it
is 3-6 orders of magnitude below the visual limit of the human eye for those photon levels.
Interest of the study
The use of CCD devices or photomultipliers has shown how the intensity of the UPE changes depending on
the disease, meditation or imagination. However, it has not been explored with other personal states of
medical and forensic interest, such as primary negative emotions (anger, fear and sadness), precursors of
crime and pathological states such as depression or anxiety, among others.
“Our group philosophy is based on promoting and encouraging the personal changes needed to approach chemical and forensic problems with a
new mind, without prejudice or conditioning, in order to be able to change the paradigms of the subjects under study. This requires us to adapt
ourselves to working in groups in multicultural and interdisciplinary teams, to a system of transversal communication in order to assume
responsibilities, to go out of the comfort zone of what we know in order to learn what we need, and to fly with our imagination towards that better
world we want.
While it is true that in the course of life we all tend to get sick, throughout our lives we must all live with our own goodness and meanness, as well
as those of others. When human pettiness leads us to extreme situations we can commit crimes, and there, in that context, it is necessary to
promote a culture of forensic intelligence that allows us not only to provide the information required by the courts, but also to have tools that
allow us to improve security in a more proactive way.
This is not easy.
However, it is possible to develop a capacity for observation and integration of knowledge that allows each of us to contribute to that small
change that we want to see in the world.
By acting. By willing”.
The research group CINQUIFOR belongs to the University of Alcalá (UAH), and it is attached to the Department
of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. Although the group was refounded in
2018, the history of its creation dates back to 2007.
OPTIMIZATION OF ON-SITE TRACE ANALYSIS
The RISEN Project
Real-tIme on-site forenSic tracE qualificatioN (RISEN) is a European project in which more than 20
prestigious institutions are collaborating, whose objective is the development of contactless sensors suitable
for real-time trace analysis that allows the detection, visualisation, identification and interpretation of the
remains in situ.
Interest of the study
The use of this technology will bring a significant reduction in the time and resources spent in the laboratory,
and will also allow for much faster and more effective exchanges of information.
Publications and progress
Newsletter No. 3, January 2022
https://www.risen-h2020.eu/download/download/7-newsletter/29-issue-no-3-january-2022.html
Food industry
Enzyme-support interactions and enzymatic activity according to pH and
temperature. Study of the enzyme beta-galactosidase in porous meso-macro
silica by means of Raman spectroscopy
Environmental studies
Study of the impact of microplastics on terrestrial biota, the role of paper as a
vector of pollution.
