Use of Styryl 11 and STaR 11 for the Luminescence Enhancement of Cyanoacrylate-Developed Fingermarks in the Visible and Near-Infrared Regions

• NCJ Number: 236880
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 56 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2011 Pages: 1505-1513
• Author(s): Scott Chadwick, B.Sc.; Philip Maynard, Ph.D.; Paul Kirkbride, Ph.D.; Curtis Lennard, Ph.D.; Xanthe Spindler, Ph.D.; Claude Roux, Ph.D.
• Date Published: November 2011
• Length: 9 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Australian Federal Police; Australian Research Council
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study evaluated the use of the laser dye styryl 11 as a post-cyanoacrylate stain.

Abstract

In current casework, most post-cyanoacrylate stains rely on luminescence emission in the visible region (400-700 nm). While traditional stains such as rhodamine 6G work well under most circumstances, some surfaces may generate background luminescence under the same conditions. Detection in the near-infrared region (NIR greater than 700 nm) was shown to be effective in minimizing the interferences from such surfaces. The laser dye styryl 11 generated strongly luminescent fingermarks when applied after cyanoacrylate fuming on all surfaces tested. When compared to rhodamine 6G, the dye was superior only when viewed in the NIR. Styryl 11 was subsequently combined with rhodamine 6G, and the mixed stain formulation (named StaR 11 by the authors) induced stronger luminescence compared with styryl 11 alone with an ability to visualize in both the visible and NIR regions. Reliable and consistent results were obtained when using either styryl 11 alone or the STaR 11 mixture. The enhancement achieved did not otherwise vary depending on the source of the fingermark secretions. With visualization possible in both the visible and NIR regions, the styryl 11/rhodamine 6G mixture showed significant potential as a post-cyanoacrylate stain. (Published Abstract)