Scientists from the U.K.’s University of Bath and China’s Shanghai Normal University are developing a new approach inspired by jellyfish for lifting latent fingerprints from crime scenes.

According to the scientists, the new approach, which features a water-soluble spray, makes fingerprints easier to examine. Basing the method on the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) that makes jellyfish fluorescent under certain lighting conditions, the team developed two different dyes: Latent Fingerprint (LFP)-Yellow and LFP-Red.

The researchers explain that LFP-Yellow and LFP-Red can be applied to fingerprints using a spray bottle and will then selectively bind to negatively charged molecules present in those fingerprints. Once applied, the dyes will reportedly glow under blue light in about 10 seconds.

The team added that although the solution is only “weakly fluorescent” before application to the latent fingerprints, the solution will glow brighter once the dyes interact with the fingerprints' fatty or amino acids, which are produced by skin oil and sweat.

Further, the new approach is reportedly safer than the toxic powders — which include harmful petrochemicals that can potentially damage DNA evidence — currently used to dust for fingerprints at crime scenes. Likewise, the spray approach was determined to be effective on rougher surfaces like concrete or brick.

An article detailing the new approach, “De Novo Green Fluorescent Protein Chromophore-Based Probes for Capturing Latent Fingerprints Using a Portable System,” appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

To contact the author of this article, email mdonlon@globalspec.com