title: Nile red: Alternative to physical developer for the detection of latent fingermarks on wet porous surfaces?
abstract: This paper describes the application of a luminescent lipid stain, nile red, for the development of latent fingermarks on porous surfaces. An optimised formulation is presented that provides rapid development of latent fingermarks on porous surfaces that are or have been wet. A comparison with physical developer (PD), the method of choice to enhance such fingermarks, indicated that nile red was a simpler and more stable technique for the development of fingermarks. The nile red formulation showed similar performance to PD across a range of substrates and ageing conditions, although PD still showed greater sensitivity on five-year-old examination booklets used in a pseudo-operational study. The pseudo-operational trial also indicated that nile red consistently developed different fingermarks to those enhanced by PD, suggesting that it preferentially targets a different fraction of the latent fingermark deposit. Significantly, the compatibility of nile red in a detection sequence with indanedione-zinc, ninhydrin and PD is reported.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology, Sydney, Broadway, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Braasch
authors.forename: Mackenzie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de la Hunty
authors.forename: Janina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deppe
authors.forename: Xanthe
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Spindler
authors.forename: Antonio A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Cantu
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maynard
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lennard
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roux
mesh_terms: D003878:Dermatoglyphics; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006801:Humans; D007189:Indans; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D049408:Luminescent Agents; D009555:Ninhydrin; D010078:Oxazines; D010209:Paper; D016062:Porosity; D013499:Surface Properties; D013997:Time Factors; D017155:Wettability
chemical_list: C413384:1,2-indanedione; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D007189:Indans; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D049408:Luminescent Agents; D010078:Oxazines; D009555:Ninhydrin; C044808:nile red