Collecting fingerprints on porous materials such as paper or boxboard have been predominately limited to immersion processes. These processes are slow, destructive to DNA, and risk cross contamination of samples. New methods involving spray application have been developed using Oil Blue A and Oil Red O. These techniques do not cover the complete color space. This study has determined Solvent Yellow 43 as a suitable yellow for enhanced visibility fingerprints on porous materials. This yellow not only provides a strong tinctorial color but allows for quick florescent detection for fingerprints below the visible threshold. The Solvent Yellow 43 mechanism is gentle and mitigates the potential damage to DNA and other biological materials. Instead of creating a chemical reaction to the oils in fingerprints, it instead implements a migration pattern of the dye into the fingerprint residue.

Fluorescent yellow method for collecting fingerprints on porous materials

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