Use of statistical design of experiments (DoE) in Forensic Analysis: A tailored review

Abstract

Forensic Analysis is strongly linked to Analytical Chemistry. Developing and optimizing methodologies to extract target substances from and to investigate the presence of analytes in bodily fluids is paramount, albeit a challenging task. In this scenario, the use of Statistical Design of Experiments (DoE) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) tools in Forensic Analysis has increased over the last years. Therefore, understanding how these tools are being employed to identify, to determine, and to quantify toxicants in biological specimens has become relevant. This review shows two important findings from the forty reviewed papers: almost all the studies used DoE/RSM in the sample preparation step, but the chromatographic and detection phases of the analytical scheme were little explored. Additionally, the papers focused mainly on optimizing the analytical peak signals of the target compounds, suggesting that detectability was the major concern when multivariate techniques were applied to develop the method. We hope this review will encourage future researchers in this area to use more design and optimization tools in a global analytical method development scheme, so that fewer but efficient assays can be conducted, contributing to shortened analysis time and fewer experimentation requirements such as smaller amounts of sample and reagents.