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Molecular Research on Forensic Odontology, Legal Medicine, and Forensic Sciences
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Molecular Research on Forensic Odontology, Legal Medicine, and Forensic Sciences

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 1237

Editor

Dr. Ricardo Henrique Alves Da Silva

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Ribeirão Preto School of Dentistry, Universidade de São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Interests: forensic odontology; forensic sciences

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forensic sciences play a vital role in modern society, supporting justice, human identification, and the resolution of complex legal cases. As technologies evolve, molecular approaches have become essential tools, enhancing accuracy, reliability, and scientific rigor. Efforts to advance this field depend directly on high-quality research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the continuous integration of innovative methodologies.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, entitled “Molecular Research on Forensic Odontology, Legal Medicine, and Forensic Sciences”—so if your research is related to molecular techniques such as STR analysis, mtDNA sequencing, SNP analysis, forensic DNA phenotyping, forensic microbiomics, forensic molecular analysis for age estimation and post mortem interval, forensic proteomics, and molecular toxicology, join us in promoting evidence-based forensic science and shaping the future of the field.

Our aim is to gather cutting-edge studies that explore molecular applications in forensic contexts, fostering knowledge that can strengthen both practice and policy.

Dr. Ricardo Henrique Alves Da Silva
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forensic odontology
  • legal medicine
  • forensic sciences
  • forensic genetics
  • human identification
  • criminal database
  • quality assurance
  • age assessment
  • sex estimation
  • ancestry
  • time of death

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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14 pages, 9590 KB  
Article
Forensic Species Identification: A Case Involving Trafficked Fish Maws and Shark Fins
by Hui Li, Xufeng Chu, Weiheng Xiao, Jinxu Jiang, Ruocheng Xia, Man Chen, Ya Di, Yukun Liu and Xiling Liu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(13), 5813; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27135813 - 27 Jun 2026
Viewed by 424
Abstract
Illegal wildlife trade and other forms of wildlife crime pose significant threats to global biodiversity. Accurate species identification of wildlife products is crucial for effectively combating illegal wildlife trade. In recent years, forensic species identification using molecular methods has gained increasing attention. Here, [...] Read more.
Illegal wildlife trade and other forms of wildlife crime pose significant threats to global biodiversity. Accurate species identification of wildlife products is crucial for effectively combating illegal wildlife trade. In recent years, forensic species identification using molecular methods has gained increasing attention. Here, we report a case involving 1777 trafficked fish maws and 18,170 trafficked shark fins. We employed DNA barcoding for forensic species identification and a large-sample inference strategy for population estimation. A total of 325 samples (197 fish maws and 128 shark fins) were randomly selected for DNA testing based on their pre-classified morphological categories. Two DNA barcodes (COI and 16S) were used, and sequence alignment was conducted using the NCBI GenBank and BOLD systems. Phylogenetic analyses were performed based on sequences detected from the samples and reference sequences, with results consistent with the sequence alignment. Consequently, seven species were identified, four of which, corresponding to approximately 17,351 to 18,170 specimens, are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Research on Forensic Odontology, Legal Medicine, and Forensic Sciences)
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19 pages, 3350 KB  
Article
Temporal RT-qPCR-Based Porcine Cardiac Molecular Profiling for Post-Mortem Interval Estimation: Predictive Modeling
by Vincenzo Cianci, Cristina Mondello, Francisco J. Diaz, Tatyana Zinger, Kristinza Giese, William Ryan, Marketa Češpivová, Daniela Sapienza, Patrizia Gualniera, Alessio Asmundo and Antonino Germanà
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(11), 4856; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27114856 - 28 May 2026
Viewed by 307
Abstract
Estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI) remains a major challenge in forensic pathology, particularly beyond the earliest postmortem phases. RNA-based markers measured by RT-qPCR have been proposed as potential tools for PMI estimation, but their reliability depends on technical robustness, reference gene stability, and [...] Read more.
Estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI) remains a major challenge in forensic pathology, particularly beyond the earliest postmortem phases. RNA-based markers measured by RT-qPCR have been proposed as potential tools for PMI estimation, but their reliability depends on technical robustness, reference gene stability, and data representation. Technical reproducibility was overall satisfactory. However, the candidate reference genes showed different temporal behaviors: ACTB remained relatively stable, whereas RPL4 displayed significant time-dependent drift, resulting in partial instability of the composite reference signal. All target genes were associated with PMI, with HPRT1 and HMOX1 emerging as the most informative markers. Several targets also showed evidence of non-linear temporal dynamics. In predictive analyses, models based on raw Ct values consistently outperformed ΔCt-based models. A parsimonious model based on HMOX1 and HPRT1 showed the most favorable trade-off between interpretability and predictive performance within this exploratory dataset, although prediction error remained non-negligible. These findings suggest that postmortem cardiac transcriptional profiles may contain temporal information useful for PMI-oriented modeling but also show that predictive performance remains limited by reference gene behavior, analytical strategy, and non-negligible estimation error. Nine porcine hearts were stored at 4 °C and sampled at 0, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 h. RT-qPCR was performed in technical triplicate for selected target genes (BAX, CASP3, HIF1A, HMOX1) together with additional quantified transcripts (ACTB, RPL4, GAPDH, HPRT1). Technical reproducibility, reference gene stability, temporal trends and predictive performance were assessed using mixed-effects models and predictive models evaluated by leave-one-heart-out cross-validation. Comparative analyses were performed using raw Ct, ΔCt, and ΔΔCt data. Overall, postmortem cardiac RT-qPCR profiling should be regarded as a proof-of-concept framework developed under specific controlled refrigerated conditions. Therefore, further external validation under heterogeneous real-world forensic scenarios and methodological standardization are required before a real-life forensic application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Research on Forensic Odontology, Legal Medicine, and Forensic Sciences)
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