Gold Nanoparticle in the Application of Forensic Fingermark Development: A Short Review

The development of fingermarks using gold nanoparticle (GNPs) was first introduced by Saunders in 1989 [1]. The technique involved two major phases, depositing the citrate capped GNP on the fingermark residue and followed the enhancing step using silver physical developer [1]. Postulation have been made regarding the reaction mechanism by which the citrate capped GNPs are attracted to the fingermark residues. The most popular theory was of electrostatic attraction between the negatively charged citrate ions and the positively charged N-terminus of amino acids present in the fingermark residue [2]. The GNPs, in turn, serve as the nucleation site for the growth of the silver physical developer giving clearer ridge details [3]. This technique was termed multi metal deposition technique because two distinct metals were utilised in the course of the fingermark development [4].