Purdue Researchers Improve Fingerprint Analysis

If you are a fan of Forensic Files or the CSI franchise... or just about any cop show for that matter, you know how valuable fingerprints are to nabbing the bad guys. Now a new technology developed at Purdue University takes fingerprint analysis to a new level. Researchers at Purdue have developed tools that can detect trace amounts of explosives, drugs or other materials left behind in the prints. Besides leaving a ridge pattern that is unique to its owner, a fingerprint also leaves behind a unique distribution of molecular compounds that can help identify other materials that a person has touched.
This chemical signature also enables researchers to distinguish between overlapping fingerprints left by different individuals. "By looking for compounds we know to be present in a certain fingerprint, we can separate it from the others and obtain a crystal clear image of that fingerprint," says Demian Ifa, a Purdue postdoctoral researcher who helped develop the technology. "The image could then be used with fingerprint recognition software to identify an individual."
The team's research is detailed in the August 8 issue of Science.