Nanotechnology Enhances Fingerprint Detection

13 March 2007

Nanotechnology has enabled scientists to more reliably detect hidden fingerprints by using Nanoparticles as part of the process. The use of Nanoparticles in the field of fingerprint detection is nothing new. However, the current process is unstable and error prone. By contrast, current discoveries improve upon existing Nanotechnology research in the field of finger print detection to provide more reliable and consistent results each time the procedure is applied.

In both cases, Nanoparticles are used as the tracing mechanism for the fingerprint, but the critical difference has to do with the type of compound that is combined with the Nanoparticles to produce the outline of the final print. Prior to the current breakthrough, Nanoparticles were combined with citrate ions in a watery mixture to provide the catalyst for the fingerprint tracing. The gold Nanoparticles stuck to molecules with a positive charge in the finger print, and the final print was combined with silver ions which produced a chemical reaction that revealed the fingerprint. The problem with the current technique is that there is latent instability in the gold solution, making it difficult to reproduce the same results from one trial to the next.

The improved process uses a more stable solution with gold Nanoparticles containing extensive hydrocarbon chains dipped in an ether of petrol. This combination enables the solution to adhere to the fingerprint using hydrophobic interactions, with silver ions used to develop the prints as before. This improved process is significantly more reliable and faster than the current one, producing quality prints in as little as three minutes.

Research continues in using Nanoparticles to detect fingerprints in non-porous surfaces and in other aspects of forensic science. This makes it possible to unearth evidence that would otherwise remain invisible to the naked eye and to conventional methodologies used by specialists.

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