A breakthrough in forensics – nothing can hide on the fingers
Fingerprints can not only reveal the identity of the person you are looking for, but also – thanks to a newly developed method – enable identification, with what chemicals the human has come into contact with, which left traces. The new method could become a breakthrough in forensics – he writes “The Analyst”. Until now, the protection of fingerprints at the crime scene was aimed only at the potential identification of the perpetrator. Today, thanks to a new method developed by Professor Frederick Rowell of the University of Sunderland (United Kingdom), the same formulation makes it possible to reveal the invisible “with the naked eye” traces and identification of chemicals, taken by the suspect person. According to scientists, possibility to define, what chemicals were in the person's environment, which left its traces at the scene of the crime, it can contribute to faster identification of the offender and possible linking him with others, as yet unsolved cases. The new method is based on the use of hydrophobic silica in the form of a powder with the addition of carbon particles (soot), which are sprinkled on places with fingerprints, to make them visible.
This procedure is no different from the traditional method of visualizing fingerprints. The novelty is the fact, that with the help of ordinary adhesive tape, pressed to the traces sprinkled with modified silica, they can be easily secured, and then perform a chemical composition analysis with a modified SALDI-TOF-MS mass spectrometer (The. surface assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry). These tests make it possible to detect trace amounts of chemicals (including drugs and their metabolites), which were in the human body, when he leaves his fingerprints. Currently, research is being carried out to standardize the method, which – after fine-tuning – it will certainly become an important police tool.
