Analysis of amino acids in latent fingerprint residue by capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry

Tom Atherton, Ruth Croxton*, Mark Baron, Jose Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Laura Gámiz-Gracia, Ana M. García-Campańa

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

36 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The analysis of the chemical composition of fingerprints is important for the development and improvement of existing fingerprint enhancement techniques. This study demonstrates the first analysis of a latent fingerprint sample, using an optimized CE-MS method. In total 12 amino acids were detected in the fingerprint sample. MS/MS fragmentation was used to provide additional identity confirmation, for which eight of the twelve detected amino acids generated confirmatory product ions. Nine amino acids were quantified and their relative abundances were consistent with previous studies with serine and glycine being the most abundant. The successful detection of amino acids from latent fingerprints demonstrates that CE-MS is a potential future technique for further study of such compounds in fingerprint samples.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2994-2999
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Separation Science
Volume35
Issue number21
Early online date7 Sept 2012
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2012
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Amino acids
  • Capillary electrophoresis
  • Latent fingerprint residue
  • Mass spectrometry

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