Tawachai Monum

Tawachai Monum


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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26 March 2026 in Forensic Sciences
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
CHChaniswara Hengcharoen
Chaniswara Hengcharoen
CJChurdsak Jaikang
Churdsak Jaikang
GKGiatgong konguthaithip
Giatgong konguthaithip
PWPaknaphat Watwaraphat
Paknaphat Watwaraphat
KVKarune Verochana
Karune Verochana
TMTawachai Monum
Tawachai Monum
Background: Reliable identification remains a cornerstone of forensic investigations, particularly when encountering degraded remains or suboptimal biological evidence. This study evaluates the potential of dentine metabolomics, utilizing proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy, to detect cancer-associated metabolic signatures in dental tissues for forensic applications. Methods: Forty-four non-carious second molars were analyzed, comprising 22 samples from deceased individuals with a documented history of cancer and 22 age- and sex-matched controls. Metabolomic profiling was conducted using 1H-NMR spectroscopy to identify and quantify dentine metabolites. Statistical evaluation included unsupervised principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and exploratory binary logistic regression. Results: Among the 209 identified metabolites, inosinic acid and 2-ketobutyric acid were identified as the most robust discriminative biomarkers across both multivariate and univariate frameworks. The exploration within-sample predictive model achieved a Nagelkerke R2 of 0.822 and an overall classification accuracy of 90.9%, with a specificity of 95.5% and a sensitivity of 86.4%. These key metabolites are fundamentally associated with purine metabolism and oxidative stress pathways frequently dysregulated in oncogenesis. Conclusions: This pilot study suggests that dentine may retain metabolomic information associated with cancer comorbidity under heterogeneous postmortem conditions. However, the findings remain exploratory and require validation in larger cohorts with standardized postmortem variables before practical forensic implementation.