The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 17, April 24, 2005, Article 6

FIRST, FUMIGATE YOUR BANKNOTE

Australian scientists have invented a new technique for finding
fingerprints on banknotes:

"Forensic scientists are hoping to finger criminals who leave
their prints on plastic banknotes using a novel imaging technique
and superglue.

Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
and the Australian Federal Police have joined forces to develop
the technique, which combines chemical imaging under infrared
light and fuming superglue, or ethyl cyanoacrylate."

"The new method allows forensic scientists to detect chemicals
on the surface of a banknote that would not usually be visible
to the human eye.

All fingerprint detection relies on the contrast between a finger's
ridge marks and the background surface.

But the coloured or patterned surface of some items, like
polymer banknotes, reduces contrast and makes fingerprints
difficult to detect."

"The first stage of the technique involves placing a banknote
in a tank filled with heated superglue fumes.

"The superglue sticks to the ridges in the fingerprint but not
the gaps in-between... The note is then put under an infrared
microscope and chemical imaging detector and scanned at the
mid-infrared range of the spectrum to highlight the superglue.

This allows the print's outline to be seen on a computer screen.

"Once we get an image on a computer screen we can print it
and compare it with other prints."

To read the full story, see: Full Story

A related story on police use of fingerprints on paper
money to track drug users: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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