On the autofluorescence of fingermarks

Lambrechts, Saskia A. G.; Dam, Annemieke van; Vos, Judith de; Weert, Angela van; Sijen, Titia; Aalders, Maurice C. G.

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2012.05.004

Cited by 29 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…[4] Tryptophan-containing proteins (Tryp) have been proposed to be the main contributor to fresh fingermarks autofluorescence (Figure 1 A). [6] When exposed to air, unsaturated lipids oxidize and form reactive oxidation products (LipOx), which react with proteins to form fluorescent oxidations products (FOX) [Eq. (1)]: [7] LipOx þ Tryp !…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxidation Monitoring by Fluorescence Spectroscopy Reveals the Age of Fingermarks

et al. 2014

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No forensic method exists that can reliably estimate the age of fingermarks found at a crime scene. Information on time passed since fingermark deposition is desired as it can be used to distinguish between crime related and unrelated fingermarks and to support or refute statements made by the fingermark donors. We introduce a non-contact method that can estimate the age of fingermarks. Fingermarks were approached as protein-lipid mixtures and an age-estimation model was build based on the expected protein and lipid oxidation reactions. Two measures of oxidation are required from the fingermark to estimate its age: 1) the relative amount of fluorescent oxidation products 2) the rate at which these products are formed. Fluorescence spectroscopy was used to obtain these measures. We tested the method on 44 fingermarks and were able to estimate the age of 55% of the male fingermarks, up to three weeks old with an uncertainty of 1.9 days.

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Oxidation Monitoring by Fluorescence Spectroscopy Reveals the Age of Fingermarks

et al. 2014

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“…Using fluorescence spectroscopy, an age-estimation model involving lipid and protein oxidation reactions was built. 39 Relative quantities of oxidation products and the rate of production were measured. In addition to the research on the autofluorescence of tryptophan 26,27 unsaturated lipids were found to oxidise in air to form products which form fluorescent products when reacting with proteins.…”

Section: Autofluorescencementioning

confidence: 99%

Crime scene to court: a study on finger-mark aging

Hagan¹

2018

FRCIJ

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Fingerprint evidence is at the forefront of most criminal cases, with important issues raised regarding the age of the mark. Was the finger-mark deposited during the crime, or at a time not related for legitimate reasons? An in-depth understanding of their change over time from the initial to the aged stage, is paramount to applying a robust aging model. Focusing on the influential factors, including donor variability and environmental conditions, along with their effects on physical or chemical characteristics as aging parameters, previously proposed techniques have been analysed in attempt to find suitable parameters to solve the dating issue. This review suggests that despite the variation of methods trialled, the question of fingermark dating remains largely unanswered. Whilst some techniques showed promise, they all possessed limitations, mainly due to the large effects of influential factors inconsistently altering the deposit over time. Without reproducible aging trends, estimating an accurate and reliable age is unrealistic. Considering additional research, there is requirement for an aging method to be tested using large donor volumes and contaminants on a wide range of substrates. Each must be subjected to ranging environmental conditions to plot aging curves. Reviewing and comparing the techniques, benefits have been identified for selecting target lipid compounds and obtaining ratios between them. Proposing a spectroscopic method, coupled with an analytical instrument enables for quantification to observe a model for application to a multitude of scenarios. In the ideal situation, the method should be validated and undertaken in an accredited laboratory, meaning results obtained would stand up to cross-examination when employed in court.

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“…However, the final outcomes of these studies were negative as the intra-and inter-variability was far too large [93]. A new study on the autofluorescence of fingermarks was recently carried out in order to identify the compounds responsible for the phenomenon [94,95]. Protein bound tryptophan (an amino acid) was inferred to be the main source of fluorescence in fresh fingermarks.…”

Section: Aging Of Fingermark Chemical Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fingermark age determinations: Legal considerations, review of the literature and practical propositions

Girod

Ramotowski²,

Lambrechts

et al. 2016

Forensic Science International

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The question of the age of fingermarks is often raised in investigations and trials when suspects admit that they have left their fingermarks at a crime scene but allege that the contact occurred at a different time than the crime and for legal reasons. In the first part of this review article, examples from American appellate court cases will be used to demonstrate that there is a lack of consensus among American courts regarding the admissibility and weight of testimony from expert witnesses who provide opinions about the age of fingermarks. Of course, these issues are not only encountered in America but have also been reported elsewhere, for example in Europe. The disparity in the way fingermark dating cases were managed in these examples is probably due to the fact that no methodology has been validated and accepted by the forensic science community so far. The second part of this review article summarizes the studies reported on fingermark dating in the literature and highlights the fact that most proposed methodologies still suffer from limitations preventing their use in practice. Nevertheless, several approaches based on the evolution of aging parameters detected in fingermark residue over time appear to show promise for the fingermark dating field. Based on these approaches, the definition of a formal methodological framework for fingermark dating cases is proposed in order to produce relevant temporal information. This framework identifies which type of information could and should be obtained about fingermark aging and what developments are still required to scientifically address dating issues.

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On the autofluorescence of fingermarks

Cited by 29 publications

References 16 publications

Oxidation Monitoring by Fluorescence Spectroscopy Reveals the Age of Fingermarks

Oxidation Monitoring by Fluorescence Spectroscopy Reveals the Age of Fingermarks

Crime scene to court: a study on finger-mark aging

Fingermark age determinations: Legal considerations, review of the literature and practical propositions

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