Anna Riccomagno
Ms. Gonzalez
English 1302
2 October 2023
MWA1: The role of Organic Chemistry in Forensic Science for solving crimes.
Introductory Paragraph:
Many people may connect the term forensic chemistry to several television programs
such as CSI or NCIS. But we must know that it is something helpful and significant. The topic I
want to talk about today is the importance of organic chemistry in forensic science. It is
necessary to define forensic science first and then to illustrate how these two sciences are tied
together through actual examples. Learning these ideas can help you better understand the world,
and who we are and will lead you to the conclusion that everything is chemistry. Organic
chemistry is the basis of several methods used in forensic science, such as NMR spectroscopy
which is extremely useful for identifying organic compounds, or the fingerprint method that
makes it possible to compare prints.
Analysis Section:
“Basic Principles of Forensic Chemistry” by authors JaVed I. Khan, Thomas J. Kennedy,6and
Donnell R. Christian Jr.
The authors introduce the definition of forensic science, saying that it is the application of
scientific principles to matters involving the law. The authors then make a statement about the
general knowledge of the public on this science, which is generally tied to the popularity of
certain television series, but television is not the reality. The purpose of this is to explain what
forensic science is and which are its basic principles, starting from the definition of atoms and
molecules up to treating the analysis of drugs and narcotics.
“Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry” by John McMurry.
McMurry in his book entitled “Organic Chemistry” explains the fundamentals of Organic
Chemistry. He will bring to the reader’s eye examples and problems, and the trademark vertical
format for explaining reaction mechanisms.
“Forensic NMR spectroscopy: Just a beginning of a promising partnership” by A.D.C. Santos,
L.M. Dutra, L.R.A. Menezes, M.F.C. Santos, and A. Barison.
The authors' purpose in their article "Forensic NMR spectroscopy: Just a 6Beginning of a
Promising Partnership" is to bring together experts from NMR and forensic science around this
shared subject. The forensic chemistry evidence is based on the chemical and physical properties
of the compounds, which are backed by data from organic analyses. NMR has been used in
forensics to determine the identity of chemical compounds implicated in poisoning cases, post-
mortem phenomena, frauds, and forgeries, and, most importantly, to characterize synthetic and
plant-based pharmaceuticals.
“Forensic Chemistry: The Revelation of Latent Fingerprints” by J. Brent Friesen.
1
