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Fingerprints reveal lifestyle habits |
| TheAllINeed.com |
(NC&T/UEA) Information such as whether someone smokes or takes drugs could prove vital to police investigations, allowing them to narrow down their pool of suspects.
The technique would be particularly useful when matches cannot be found on national databases.
It is hoped the method could also be used to test for performance-enhancing drugs in athletes and to help diagnose diseases.
The team of forensic experts from UEA and King's College London has shown that it is possible to get chemical information from drugs or drug breakdown products, known as metabolites, present in minute quantities of sweat deposited with a fingerprint to provide 'lifestyle intelligence' about an individual.
Prof David Russell, of UEA's School of Chemical Sciences and Pharmacy, said they had already used the technique to detect cotinine, a chemical produced by the body as it breaks down nicotine.
 | | A fingerprint. (Photo: UEA) |
He explained: "The ability to detect the crime while simultaneously determining the perpetrator has enormous potential for forensic science.
"We are aiming to produce a solution that can detect a range of substances and produce a different colour for each, so it will be possible to look at a fingerprint and obtain a lifestyle profile from it.
"However, it is anticipated that this technique could be applied to the screening of athletes and for the detection of biomarkers for medical diagnostics."
To test the analysis technique the scientists designed a system to detect cotinine in the fingerprints of people who smoke.
A solution containing gold nanoparticles, to which cotinine-binding antibodies are attached, is added to the fingerprints.
A second antibody, which is marked with a fluorescent dye, is then applied and binds to the cotinine antibodies on the nanoparticle surface.
When a light is shone on the print the dye glows along the ridge patterns revealing that it belongs to a smoker.
The high-definition fluorescence images obtained as the sweat diffuses along the ridge pattern of the fingerprint also enables the identification of the individual.
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| Quotes | Heres tae the fool on the hill and his pals that are down in the valley.- Wolfstone, Glass and the Can
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