Visualisation of amphetamine contamination in fingerprints using tof-sims technique

Visualisation of amphetamine contamination in fingerprints using tof-sims technique

Szynkowska-Jóźwik, Małgorzata I. (Lodz University of Technology)
Maćkiewicz, Elżbieta (Lodz University of Technology)
Rogowski, Jacek (Lodz University of Technology)
Gajek, Magdalena (Lodz University of Technology)
Pawlaczyk, Aleksandra (Lodz University of Technology)
de Puit, M. (TU Delft ChemE/Advanced Soft Matter; Digital Technology and Biometrics; Netherlands Forensic Institute - NFI)
Parczewski, Andrzej (Jagiellonian University)

2021

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) was applied to detect traces of amphetamine on fingerprints. In the present study, three different lift tapes and latent powder fingerprints were tested. The obtained results show that it is possible to identify traces of a drug as well as its distribution over the tested fingerprint after its transfer from the primary base onto an adhesive lifter (secondary base). Moreover, images obtained by the TOF-SIMS technique enable the observation of very small areas of the analysed fingerprint as well as the identification of micro-objects (residues of a contaminant) that were left on the fingerprint. The use of the black latent fingerprint powder did not interfere with the TOF-SIMS analysis, which makes it possible to effectively use this technique to study the traces of substances on the revealed fingerprints.

Amphetamine visualisation
Black powder
Fingerprint
Lifting tape
TOF-SIMS

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:61a05f78-65b9-4a56-812a-a6cba1d0a198

https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14216243

1996-1944

Materials, 14 (21)

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2021 Małgorzata I. Szynkowska-Jóźwik, Elżbieta Maćkiewicz, Jacek Rogowski, Magdalena Gajek, Aleksandra Pawlaczyk, M. de Puit, Andrzej Parczewski