ISSN: 2573-1734
Authors: Erdogan A*
Fingermarks are one of the earliest forensic evidence linking a crime scene to a criminal and is based on the assumption that everyone has a unique set of patterns at their fingertips. In fact, fingermarks are much more than their formal appearance; they are our chemical identities. Most forensic scientists now consider not the chemicals produced by a person's body, but the chemicals they touched before leaving fingermarks; explosives, narcotics, drugs, etc. Therefore, there has long been a need in the forensic science community to explore new ways to analyze fingermarks. Spectroscopic methods are the leading methods that will allow the multi-faceted examination of the evidence detected at the crime scenes, the preservation of the structure of the evidence during the examination and the re-analysis of the evidence in the judicial proceedings. Today, with the developing technology, a large number of spectra can be collected by area scanning with spectroscopic techniques and these can be converted into images with various software. Spectroscopic imaging is an emerging technology that combines digital imaging and molecular spectroscopy, where high-quality spectral and spatial information is collected over a period of time. In terms of sensitivity, reproducibility, selectivity, reliability and finally applicability of each method; it has advantages and limitations to be used in routine forensic science applications or academic research studies. In this review, apart from the more commonly used mass spectrometry techniques, it is aimed to discuss chemically monitoring narcotic substances and gunshot residues in fingermark samples by some spectroscopic techniques. When the literature is examined, the limited number of studies on the analysis and chemical imaging of fingermark chemistry with spectroscopic techniques is the most unique aspect of this discussion.
Keywords: Fingermark Chemistry; Chemical Imaging; Spectroscopic Techniques; Forensic Science; PCA
