NCJ Number
196326
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 47 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2002 Pages: 805-810
Date Published
July 2002
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper investigates the chemical nature of fingerprints to ascertain whether differences in chemical composition or the existence of chemical markers can be used to determine personal traits such as age, gender, and personal habits.
Abstract
This type of information could be useful for reducing the pool of potential suspects in criminal investigations when latent fingerprints are unsuitable for comparison by traditional methods. Fingertip residue that had been deposited onto a bead was extracted with a solvent such as chloroform. Samples were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Chemical components identified included fatty acids, long chain fatty acid esters, cholesterol, and squalene. The area ratios of 10 selected components relative to squalene were calculated for a small preliminary experiment that showed a slight gender difference for 3 of these components. However, when the experiment was repeated with a larger, statistically designed experiment no significant gender differences were detected for any of the component ratios. Figures, references