{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T05:10:10Z","timestamp":1778476210496,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]],"date-time":"2026-01-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768780800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]],"date-time":"2026-01-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768780800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005727","name":"Universidade de Coimbra","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005727","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int J Legal Med"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Postmortem interval (PMI) estimation is mandatory in any forensic investigation. Although it remains a very challenging task, particularly in skeletonized human remains. Luminol chemiluminescence has been explored as a tool for PMI estimation, however, its application requires further experimental validation to ensure accuracy and reproducibility. The present research aims to increase the objectivity of PMI estimation by quantifying the light emission from the luminol chemiluminescence reaction. For this purpose, a sample of clavicles collected from 24 adult individuals of both sexes, with known PMI ranging from 7 to approximately 500 years, was selected. After being reduced to powder, the samples were analyzed on a CCD camera with an image intensifier, and the reaction Ipeak was measured. The results obtained revealed a clear inverse relationship between PMI and Ipeak values. A segmented regression analysis identified a statistically supported threshold at approximately 30 years postmortem, distinguishing a variable early postmortem phase from a long-term phase characterized by consistently low and minimally variable chemiluminescence intensities. This pilot study supports the validity of quantifying the luminol chemiluminescence reaction as a feasible and informative presumptive screening tool for PMI estimation, with potential applicability in distinguishing remains of forensic interest from those of archaeological relevance.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s00414-025-03713-w","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]],"date-time":"2026-01-19T02:57:44Z","timestamp":1768791464000},"page":"1577-1587","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Quantification of luminol chemiluminescence: a tool for estimating the postmortem interval of skeletal human remains"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"140","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4995-8266","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Catarina","family":"Ermida","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9455-1206","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Miguel","family":"Morgado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2998-371X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eug\u00e9nia","family":"Cunha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2437-7780","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Teresa","family":"Ferreira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"3713_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"45","DOI":"10.14195\/2182-7982_39_3","volume":"39","author":"C Ermida","year":"2022","unstructured":"Ermida C, Cunha E, Ferreira MT (2022) Dating death: post mortem interval estimation of human skeletal remains. 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Int J Legal Med 139:429\u2013440. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s00414-024-03343-8","journal-title":"Int J Legal Med"}],"container-title":["International Journal of Legal Medicine"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s00414-025-03713-w.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s00414-025-03713-w","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s00414-025-03713-w.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T04:35:46Z","timestamp":1778474146000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1007\/s00414-025-03713-w"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]]},"references-count":26,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,5]]}},"alternative-id":["3713"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s00414-025-03713-w","relation":{},"ISSN":["0937-9827","1437-1596"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0937-9827","type":"print"},{"value":"1437-1596","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]]},"assertion":[{"value":"29 July 2025","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"28 December 2025","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"19 January 2026","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"order":1,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"The 21\u2009st Century Identified Human Skeletal Collection has a positive legal approval from the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra (CE_026.2016). Clavicles from autopsies performed at the INMLCF.IP., Centre and South Branch (approved by the Ethics Commission of the INMLCF.IP., no code available and CE-21\/2021, respectively). Archaeological sample used with the consent of the curator of the Valle da Gafaria osteoarchaeological collection at the time of the sample recovery (no code available). The authors certify that the study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Informed Consent"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":5,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Human Ethics"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":6,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Clinical trial number"}},{"value":"The authors declare that they have no competing interests.","order":7,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}]}}