Presumptive drug identification by ninhydrin fingerprint analysis

Lange, Erin and Carlysle-Davies, Felicity (2024) Presumptive drug identification by ninhydrin fingerprint analysis. Forensic Chemistry, 40. 100597. ISSN 2468-1709 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forc.2024.100597)

[thumbnail of Lang-Carlysle-Davies-FC-2024-Presumptive-drug-identification-by-ninhydrin-fingerprint-analysis]
Preview
 Text. Filename: Lang-Carlysle-Davies-FC-2024-Presumptive-drug-identification-by-ninhydrin-fingerprint-analysis.pdf
Final Published Version
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 logo
Download (2MB)| Preview

Abstract

A known method of smuggling drugs into prisons is by infusing papers with these illicit substances, and sending them to prisoners through the mail. During the preparation of these drug-infused samples, there is potential for direct contact between the hands and paper, leading to the deposition of fingerprints. These fingerprints would not be visible to the naked eye, but can easily be rendered visible using the ninhydrin method for latent fingerprint detection. This reaction is well known to produce a visible purple coloured fingerprint on the surface of the material in a well-documented, consistent manner. This research, however, demonstrates variations of this reaction in the presence of illicit drugs on the surface of the paper being analyzed. The fingerprints have been demonstrated to vary in shade and intensity of colour in the purple/blue/grey region following the ninhydrin process when different drugs have been infused in the paper material. This phenomenon has the potential to be used as a presumptive indicator of any drugs that may be present in infused papers.

ORCID iDs

Lange, Erin and Carlysle-Davies, Felicity ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2256-796X;
  • Item type:Article
    ID code:89954
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    1 September 2024
    Published
    11 July 2024
    Published Online
    10 July 2024
    Accepted
    Subjects:Science > Chemistry
    Department:Faculty of Science > Pure and Applied Chemistry
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:18 Jul 2024 10:36
    Last modified:11 Nov 2024 14:23
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/89954
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)