Introducing the Latest Fingerprinting Technique
A new fingerprinting method could potentially identify the diet and sex of a speculated criminal, according to new research published in the August edition of the journal Analytical Chemistry. The team, led by Professor Sergei Kazarian from Imperial College London’s Department of Chemical Engineering, has invented a technique which gathers fingerprints along with their chemical remains and keep them intact for future reference. Chemical residues comprise a few millionths of a gram of fluid and can be recovered on all fingerprints. Conventional fingerprinting strategies frequently distort or destroy vital chemical data with no easy method of lifting residues for chemical imaging, until today.
Imperial scientists found that the use of gel tapes, commercial gelatine based tape, presents a simple method for collection and transportation of prints for chemical imaging analysis. The prints, once lifted, are scrutinized in a spectroscopic microscope. The sample is irradiated with infrared rays to recognize specific molecules within the print to give a comprehensive chemical composition. The knowledge is then processed by an infrared array detector, originally developed by the U.S. military in smart missile technology. The array detector chemically plots the residue. This method develops a picture, or chemical photograph, and offers the most comprehensive facts acquired from a fingerprint.
“The joint operational advantages and benefits for forensic scientists of tape lifting prints and spectroscopic imaging absolutely maximises the number of informations one can acquire from fingerprints. Our experiments present that this technique could provide a significant part in the fight against felony,” said Professor Kazarian. In many instances, this information is sufficient to ascertain vital clues concerning a person through the fingerprint itself. It could likely detect traces of objects a person came in contact with, such as gunpowder, narcotics and biological or chemical weapons. Chemical evidences could also emphasize specific traits in a person. A strong evidence of urea, a chemical seen in urine, could be a sign of a male. Weak of urea in a chemical sample could be a sign of a female. Particular amino acids could potentially indicate whether the suspect was a vegetarian or meat-eater.
Professor Kazarian assure that this strategy could allow forensic scientists to observe how Fingerprints change in time and within different environments. “By focussing on what is left in a fingerprint after periods of time, scientists could possibly assess how old a crime incident is. Studying what happens to prints, when they are exposed to high temperatures, is also important, specifically in arson cases where lifting prints has been extremely difficult,” he said. Speculations concerning the possible future advantage of this technique, Professor Sergei Kazarian said: “In the courtroom of the near future, chemical images could appear as basic evidence. I hope our work supports law enforcement authorities to deliver dangerous criminals to justice." For Toronto Fingerprinting, visit CanadianFingerprints.com.
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