SAN DIEGO, March 14 (UPI) -- A new X-ray technique can lift fingerprints from difficult surfaces, protect clues and capture new chemical markers, U.S. researchers said.
Traditional techniques use powders, liquids or vapors to make fingerprints more visible so they can be photographed. These time-intensive approaches, however, sometimes alter the prints and are not well suited for detecting prints on some surfaces, such as fabric, wood or skin.
The new technique developed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M., irradiates the surface with micro-X-ray fluorescence, detecting the chemical elements in the print without disturbing it.
The technique only can be used in the lab at this time, however, and also may not detect very light fingerprints that do not have enough material to be sensed by the instruments. On the other hand, the X-ray method is able to discern chemicals that might offer clues. Very high levels of potassium, for example, hint at potassium nitrate, a component of explosives.
The research was described Sunday at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego.
