Analyzing a Fingerprint's Content

A new technique with wide applications in criminal forensics has been developed, which uses a fingerprint not only to identify a person, but can also reveal what that person has touched before leaving the fingerprint. Traces of drugs, explosives and poisons might be found in any given fingerprint at a crime scene. Professor of chemistry R. Graham Cooks of Purdue University and his colleagues have created a process called "Desorption Electrospray Inonization," which applies a tiny spray of electrically charged liquid to small sections of the fingerprint in a scanning pattern. The resulting ions can then be collected, analyzed and identified by a mass spectrometer. In addition, the technique can be used to extract a single fingerprint out of a smudge of many by the unique chemical makeup provided by the individual who left it.

The original and continued purpose for this technology is to provide a quick tool for doctors to find traces of cancerous tissue in their patients, but the scanning for trace amounts of any substance has tremendous applications in many fields. Dr. Cook is also aware of the future ethical concerns his fingerprint analyzing technology might bring. Instead of drug testing employees via blood and urine tests, a company might analyze their keyboards or other work surfaces they touch without their knowledge or consent.

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