{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T19:11:43Z","timestamp":1791227503729,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778457600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Instytut Ekspertyz S\u0105dowych","award":["V\/K\/2025-2026"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["V\/K\/2025-2026"]}]},{"award":["V\/K\/2025-2026"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["V\/K\/2025-2026"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03z23rf32","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The objective of this study was to evaluate colour changes in cotton fibres within knitted fabric structures under different light exposure conditions and to assess the applicability of forensic analytical methods for this purpose. Fabrics of three distinct colours were exposed to two types of irradiation: natural sunlight and artificial light in a controlled climatic chamber. A multi-scale analytical approach was applied, including visual inspection and stereomicroscopy for macro-level evaluation, followed by bright-field microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, and UV\u2013Vis microspectrophotometry for single-fibre characterisation. Visual assessment of fabrics revealed perceptible colour differences between exposed and unexposed samples, whereas stereomicroscopy did not consistently enhance the detection of these alterations. Bright-field and fluorescence microscopy showed no visually perceptible differences between fibres from exposed and unexposed fabrics of the same colour. Microspectrophotometric measurements did not reliably capture colour changes in single cotton fibres, particularly in samples exposed to natural sunlight. Furthermore, total colour difference (\u0394E) values, ranging from 0.248 to 6.652, were found to be unreliable at the single-fibre level due to significant spatial variability across different measurement sites. The findings indicate that, while light exposure may induce perceptible colour alterations in cotton knitted fabrics, the forensic examination of single fibres does not necessarily reflect these macro-scale changes. From a forensic perspective, the stability of microscopic and microspectrophotometric characteristics supports reliable fibre comparison, even after post-event exposure to sunlight.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym18101178","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T15:39:32Z","timestamp":1778513972000},"page":"1178","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Microscopic and Microspectrophotometric Evaluation of Colour Changes in Cotton Fibres Exposed to Natural and Artificial Solar Radiation: Forensic Implications"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5812-6798","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jolanta","family":"W\u0105s-Guba\u0142a","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, 31-033 Krakow, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Weronika","family":"Sarnowska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 2, 30-387 Krakow, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-4089-5928","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bart\u0142omiej","family":"Feigel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Forensic Research, Westerplatte 9, 31-033 Krakow, Poland"},{"name":"Department C-1, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, 31-155 Krakow, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Robertson, J., Roux, C., and Wiggins, K. (2018). Forensic Examination of Fibres, CRC Press. [3rd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"ENFSI (2022). Best Practice Manual for the Forensic Examination of Fibres, ENFSI. Available online: https:\/\/enfsi.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2.-ENFSI-BPM-THG-04-1.pdf."},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"7","article-title":"The Evolution of Colour Vision Testing","volume":"40","author":"French","year":"2008","journal-title":"Aust. Orthopt. J."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Raluca, B. (2016). A Review of Colour Measurements in the Textile Industry, Editura Universit\u0103\u0163ii din Oradea. Available online: https:\/\/ibn.idsi.md\/sites\/default\/files\/j_nr_file\/AUO-FTL-Vol%20XVII-No%201.pdf#page=23."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"\u015amigiel-Kami\u0144ska, D., W\u0105s-Guba\u0142a, J., Stepnowski, P., and Kumirska, J. (2020). The Identification of Cotton Fibres Dyed with Reactive Dyes for Forensic Purposes. 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Today"}],"container-title":["Polymers"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-4360\/18\/10\/1178\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]],"date-time":"2026-05-20T04:28:13Z","timestamp":1779251293000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-4360\/18\/10\/1178"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]]},"references-count":24,"journal-issue":{"issue":"10","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5]]}},"alternative-id":["polym18101178"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/polym18101178","relation":{},"ISSN":["2073-4360"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2073-4360","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]]}}}