Find the lost fingerprints using nanotechnology

The hidden fingerprints can now be retrieved quickly and reliably thanks to two new developments in nanotechnology.

The current method for finding fingerprints involves coating the surface of a suspension of gold nanoparticles and citrate ions. In acidic environments, gold nanoparticles stick to positive particles in the fingerprint. The fingerprint is then revealed by a silver ion solution, which reacts chemically to leave a silver line along the fingerprints.

(Artwork: Portarthurpd.com) However, the gold solution used in this method is unstable and difficult to repeat the results - because animals Daniel Mandler doctoral, doctoral research group Joseph Almog your school The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has developed a more durable solution by adding a series of hydrocarbons to the yellow nanoparticles and ' hanging ' them suspended in petroleum ether.

The prints made with the new solution are of very high quality and appear very well only after three minutes in solution.

The team also expanded their technique for use on porous surfaces, using cadmium selenide / zinc sulphate petroleum ether. In this case, the chemical reaction causes the fingerprints to fluoresce, so there is no need to add any intermediate stages.

"These techniques are revolutionary and have the potential to dramatically improve the recovery of deleted fingerprints ," said Antonio Cantu, a forensic analyst at the US Secret Service in Washington. as evidence. '

Dr Claude Roux, director of the Center for Forensic Medicine at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, said: "The use of nanotechnology for people who perform fingerprints recovery can bring about solutions. Real and new to reveal the hidden fingerprints, otherwise these fingerprints will not remain forever.

Thanh Van