Microscopic and Microspectrophotometric Evaluation of Colour Changes in Cotton Fibres Exposed to Natural and Artificial Solar Radiation: Forensic Implications.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Microscopic and Microspectrophotometric Evaluation of Colour Changes in Cotton Fibres Exposed to Natural and Artificial Solar Radiation: Forensic Implications.
Authors: Wąs-Gubała, Jolanta1 (AUTHOR) jwas@ies.gov.pl, Sarnowska, Weronika2 (AUTHOR), Feigel, Bartłomiej1,3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Polymers (20734360). May2026, Vol. 18 Issue 10, p1178. 14p.
Subjects: Cotton fibers, Solar radiation, Photodegradation, Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Color variation (Biology), Microscopy, Forensic sciences, Luminescence
Abstract: 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–Vis 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 (ΔE) 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Polymers (20734360) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 1
Header DbId: egs
DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 194117779
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Microscopic and Microspectrophotometric Evaluation of Colour Changes in Cotton Fibres Exposed to Natural and Artificial Solar Radiation: Forensic Implications.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wąs-Gubała%2C+Jolanta%22">Wąs-Gubała, Jolanta</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> jwas@ies.gov.pl</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sarnowska%2C+Weronika%22">Sarnowska, Weronika</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Feigel%2C+Bartłomiej%22">Feigel, Bartłomiej</searchLink><relatesTo>1,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Polymers+%2820734360%29%22">Polymers (20734360)</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 18 Issue 10, p1178. 14p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cotton+fibers%22">Cotton fibers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Solar+radiation%22">Solar radiation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Photodegradation%22">Photodegradation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ultraviolet-visible+spectroscopy%22">Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Color+variation+%28Biology%29%22">Color variation (Biology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Microscopy%22">Microscopy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Forensic+sciences%22">Forensic sciences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Luminescence%22">Luminescence</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: 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–Vis 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 (ΔE) 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Polymers (20734360) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=194117779
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.3390/polym18101178
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 1178
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Cotton fibers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Solar radiation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Photodegradation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Color variation (Biology)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Microscopy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Forensic sciences
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Luminescence
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Microscopic and Microspectrophotometric Evaluation of Colour Changes in Cotton Fibres Exposed to Natural and Artificial Solar Radiation: Forensic Implications.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Wąs-Gubała, Jolanta
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Sarnowska, Weronika
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Feigel, Bartłomiej
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 15
              M: 05
              Text: May2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 20734360
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 18
            – Type: issue
              Value: 10
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Polymers (20734360)
              Type: main
ResultId 1