title: Spectroscopic imaging of latent fingermarks collected with the aid of a gelatin tape.
abstract: This work introduces a new and nondestructive methodology for the collection and chemical identification of latent fingermarks. The main challenges of this work were (a) to find an appropriate medium to lift fingermarks from various surfaces and (b) to develop an analytical approach for the identification of small quantities of sample while avoiding spectroscopic interference from the lifting media. Two different lifting media were evaluated and analyzed by ATR-FT-IR spectroscopic imaging, which affords inherent chemical specificity with rapid acquisition of data. This is the first time that chemical images of latent fingermarks collected with gel lifters from different surfaces have been obtained. Spatially resolved chemical images from different depths within the same sample were obtained using ATR-FT-IR imaging with a variable angle ATR accessory to minimize interference from the substrate. The possibility of obtaining, through the developed methodology, three-dimensional depth profiles of surface contaminants collected with the lifting gel shows great potential for the investigation of samples for forensic interest.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Camilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bleay
authors.forename: Sergei G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Kazarian