Fingerprinting currently remains one of the oldest and most widely used methods of forensic testing in the world to date. Despite this, there have been few advancements in the field which has led to increased scrutiny over whether outdated techniques are reliable and sufficient. Several flaws which are most commonly noted with current fingerprinting methods is a lack of reliable techniques, investigative bias, and incompatibility of currently available chemicals and potentially important materials to a crime scene. The method proposed to overcome this issue is the use of functionalized nanomaterials which have the potential to overcome current limitations of fingerprinting techniques. Nanomaterials allow for increased surface area interaction which is vital to obtaining an accurate and reliable print. By combining the use of these nanomaterials with advanced imaging techniques, much more sophisticated, detailed, and reliable prints may be processed which will better serve the needs of law enforcement officers. This research aims to demonstrate the superiority of nanomaterials over traditional and outdated fingerprint development techniques.<br/>

Advancements in latent fingerprint development

255th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.