ScienceDaily (July 23, 2007) — In a finding that should get a "thumbs up" from CSI fans, researchers in the United Kingdom are reporting development of a fast new fingerprinting method that shows promise for improving the collection and analysis of fingerprints from crime scenes. 

Standard methods for collecting fingerprints at crime scenes, such as dusting, can sometimes alter the prints and erase valuable forensic clues, including traces of chemicals that may be in the prints. In the new study, Sergei G. Kazarian of Imperial College London and colleagues used a special gelatin tape to collect fingerprints from several different surfaces including a door handle, a mug handle, a curved glass surface, and a computer screen. They exposed the imprinted gels to a highly sensitive instrument that used a beam of infrared light and an array detector to obtain images of the collected fingerprints.

The method revealed valuable chemical information about the composition of the prints, potentially giving information about the individual depositing them (e.g. smoker, vegetarian), and the presence of contaminants within the prints, which could provide clues about what possible suspects had handled (e.g. foodstuffs, drugs) and, thus could be useful in identifying a criminal, the report said. In addition, the new method kept the original fingerprints intact and available for further analysis, the researchers added.

The finding is scheduled for publication in the August 1 issue of ACS' Analytical Chemistry.

Article: "Spectroscopic Imaging of Latent Fingermarks Collected with the Aid of a Gelatin Tape"

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Chemical Society, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Related Stories

Chemical Imaging: Potential New Crime Busting Tool (Aug. 7, 2007) — A new fingerprinting technique could potentially detect the diet, race and sex of a suspected criminal, according to new research. A strong trace of urea, a chemical found in urine, could indicate a ...  > read more

Criminals Who Eat Processed Foods More Likely To Be Discovered, Through Fingerprint Sweat Corroding Metal (Sep. 18, 2008) — The inventor of a revolutionary new forensic fingerprinting technique claims criminals who eat processed foods have 'sticky fingers,' which are more likely to corrode metal. This makes them more ...  > read more

CSI Fact Catching Up With Fiction As Chemists Develop New Technology (Mar. 25, 2008) — Real-life crime scene analysis of bloodstains, fingerprints, and other evidence does not match the speed and certainty on television shows such as CSI. But thanks to advances in chemistry, fact is ...  > read more

New Method Developed to Capture Fingerprints On Difficult Surfaces (May 11, 2010) — CSI notwithstanding, forensics experts cannot always retrieve fingerprints from objects, but a new conformal coating process can reveal hard-to-develop fingerprints on nonporous surfaces without ...  > read more

Search ScienceDaily