Development of a Chemically Relevant Artificial Fingerprint Material

Published

September 16, 2015

Author(s)

Edward Sisco, Jessica L. Staymates, Katherine Schilling, John Gillen

Abstract

The development of a chemically relevant artificial fingerprint material as well as a preliminary method for fingerprint deposition is discussed herein. More specifically the improvement of an artificial sweat material, an artificial sebaceous material, and the production of an emulsified mixture are presented. For fingerprint deposition, the use of a ballistics gelatin finger is outlined as a potential method to obtain artificial fingerprints without contamination from actual fingerprint residue. To determine the chemical relevancy of this material, a number of analytical techniques were used to compare the chemical signature of the artificial fingerprint material to that of actual human fingerprints. Additionally, a comparison of the ability to visually develop artificial fingerprints and real latent fingerprints using a number of different development techniques is presented. Finally, a proof of concept in the ability to dope artificial fingerprints with exogenous materials is shown.

Citation

Forensic Science International

Pub Type

Journals

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DOI Link

Keywords

Latent Fingerprint, Sebum, Development Techniques

Citation

Sisco, E. , Staymates, J. , Schilling, K. and Gillen, J. (2015), Development of a Chemically Relevant Artificial Fingerprint Material, Forensic Science International, [online], https://doi.org/10.1080/00085030.2015.1083167 (Accessed October 27, 2025)