Bioaffinity-based methods for forensic, biometric, and clinical purposes

Biomarker analysis is a well-established discipline that involves the evaluation of biological samples for the presence of various substances indicative of personal attributes or illnesses. Sweat is one example of a biological fluid that is often overlooked for forensic and clinical analyses, even though it can contain DNA, various amino acids, and other low molecular weight compounds.1–3 The work presented in this dissertation focuses on the use of bioaffinity-based assays to quantify biomarkers in sweat for both forensic and clinical applications. The concentration of the biochemical content within an individual’s sweat are controlled by hormone-based metabolic pathways4 that fluctuate daily based on factors such as age, biological sex, diet, and activity levels. Due to these factors, the biochemical content of sweat is specific to one individual at a given time and can be utilized to obtain valuable information about a person’s physical state or even identity.