The use of a new technique, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) chemical imaging, has been demonstrated for the enhancement of latent fingermarks on a number of surfaces. Images of untreated fingermarks on glass backgrounds with excellent ridge detail were acquired using infrared chemical imaging. High quality fingermarks on glass backgrounds were also developed using ethyl cyanoacrylate (super glue) fuming and subsequent infrared chemical imaging. This new method allows the collection of images from backgrounds that traditionally pose problems for current fingermark detection methods. The background may, for example, be highly colored, have a complex pattern, or possess other pattern or image characteristics that make it difficult to separate fingermark ridges using traditional optical or luminescent visualization. One background that has proven to be a challenging surface for the development of latent fingermarks is the Australian polymer banknote. To demonstrate the power and applicability of infrared chemical imaging, fingermarks fumed with ethyl cyanoacrylate were successfully imaged from Australian polymer banknotes.

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Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) chemical imaging allows the collection of fingerprint images from backgrounds that have traditionally posed problems for conventional fingerprint detection methods. In this work, the suitability of this technique for the imaging of fingerprints on a wider range of difficult surfaces (including polymer banknotes, various types of paper, and aluminum drink cans) has been tested. For each new surface, a systematic methodology was employed to optimize settings such as spectral resolution, number of scans, and pixel aggregation in order to reduce collection time and file-size without compromising spatial resolution and the quality of the final fingerprint image. The imaging of cyanoacrylate-fumed fingerprints on polymer banknotes has been improved, with shorter collection times for larger image areas. One-month-old fingerprints on polymer banknotes have been successfully fumed and imaged. It was also found that FTIR chemical imaging gives high quality images of cyanoacrylate-fumed fingerprints on aluminum drink cans, regardless of the printed background. Although visible and UV light sources do not yield fingerprint images of the same quality on difficult, nonporous backgrounds, in many cases they can be used to locate a fingerprint prior to higher quality imaging by the FTIR technique. Attempts to acquire FTIR images of fingerprints on paper-based porous surfaces that had been treated with established reagents such as ninhydrin were all unsuccessful due to the swamping effect of the cellulose constituents of the paper.

The unimolecular decompositions of two isomers of [C3H8N]+, \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm CH}_{\rm 2} {\rm CH} = \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + {\rm H}_2 $\end{document} and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm CH}_{\rm 2} \mathop {\rm N}\limits^ + {\rm H = CH}_{\rm 2} $\end{document}, are discussed in terms of the potential energy profile over which reaction may be considered to occur. The energy needed to promote slow (metastable) dissociations of either ion is found to be less than that required to cause isomerization to the other structure. This finding is supported by the observation of different decomposition pathways, different metastable peak shapes for C2H4 loss, the results of 2H labelling studies, and energy measurements on the two ions. The corresponding potential energy profile for decomposition of the oxygen analogues, \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}${\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm CH}_{\rm 2} {\rm CH =\!= }\mathop {\rm O}\limits^ + {\rm H} $\end{document} and \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm CH}_{\rm 3} {\rm CH}_{\rm 2} \mathop {\rm O}\limits^ + {\rm = CH}_{\rm 2} $\end{document}, is compared and contrasted with that proposed for the [C3H8N]+ isomers. This analysis indicates that for the oxygen analogues, the energy needed to decompose either ion is very similar to that required to cause isomerization to the other structure. Consequently, dissociation of either ion is finely balanced with rearrangement to the other and similar reactions are observed. Detailed mechanisms are proposed for loss of H2O and C2H4 from each ion and it is shown that these mechanisms are consistent with 2H and 13C labelling studies, the kinetic energy release associated with each decomposition channel, the relative competition between H2O and C2H4 loss and energy measurements.

Four novel cyanoacrylates, 2-cyanoethyl 2-cyanoacrylate, 1-cyanoethyl 2-cyanoacrylate, trideuteromethyl 2-cyanoacrylate and pentadeuteroethyl 2-cyanoacrylate have been synthesized using a Diels-Alder protection/deprotection route involving anthracene. The common route for the synthesis of alkyl 2-cyanoacrylates was found to be unsatisfactory for the production of small quantities of the targeted cyanoacrylates, which have potential as reagents for the mid-infrared spectral imaging of fingerprints on difficult surfaces.• the use of acid catalysts for the condensation reaction between alkyl cyanoacetates and formaldehyde [35][36][37][38] • Diels-Alder protection and deprotection [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49] • esterification of 2-cyanoacryloyl chloride with an alcohol or diol (for bis cyanoacrylates) 50