subject: Breakthrough Of The Advance Fingerprinting Technique [print this page] A new fingerprinting method could potentially identify the diet and sex of a speculated criminal, according to new research produced in the August edition of the journal Analytical Chemistry. The team, led by Professor Sergei Kazarian from Imperial College Londons Department of Chemical Engineering, has created a method which gathers fingerprints along with their chemical evidences and keep them intact for potential reference. Chemical residues contain a few millionths of a gram of fluid and can be found on all fingerprints. Typical fingerprinting methods frequently distort or destroy necessary chemical data without easy way of lifting residues for chemical imaging, until now. Imperial scientists ascertain that the use of gel tapes, commercial gelatine based tape, gives a simple procedure for compilation and transportation of prints for chemical imaging inquiry. The prints, once lifted, are examined in a spectroscopic microscope. The sample is irradiated with infrared rays to recognize distinct molecules within the print to provide a detailed chemical composition. The information 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 generates a picture, or chemical photograph, and present the most comprehensive knowledge derived from a fingerprint. The joint operational advantages and benefits for forensic scientists of tape lifting prints and spectroscopic imaging really maximises the number of informations one can acquire from fingerprints. Our experiments present that this procedure could contribute a significant role in the fight against felony, said Professor Kazarian. In many cases, this fact is enough to establish vital evidences about a person through the fingerprint itself. It could likely recognize traces of items a person came in contact with, for instance gunpowder, narcotics and biological or chemical weapons. Chemical evidences could also feature particular traits in a person. A strong evidence of urea, a chemical seen in urine, could denote a male. Weak traces of urea in a chemical sample could imply a female. Particular amino acids could probably indicate whether the suspect was a vegetarian or meat-eater. Professor Kazarian assure that this strategy could allow forensic scientists to examine 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 verify how old a crime incident is. Learning what happens to prints, when they are prolonged to high temperatures, is also vital, specifically in arson cases where lifting prints has been extremely difficult, he said. Speculations about the possible future importance 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 aids law enforcement authorities to lead dangerous criminals to justice." For Fingerprinting Toronto, check out CanadianFingerprints.com.
