SPUR Project

2012 winner (6 of 14)

Investigating the effectiveness of Oil Red O as an alternative or complimentary treatment in fingerprint recovery
Supervisor: Dr Lisa Davis (Science and Technology)

In the chemical development of fingerprints there is currently only one Home Office approved method for the recovery of fingerprints from porous substrates that have been wetted (paper, cardboard etc.). This process is known as Physical Developer and is a relatively long, laborious process that can often result in disintegration of the item being treated. This project will investigate an alternative treatment using Oil Red O, which may provide a quicker and more efficient treatment route than the existing method. Student tasks will include a literature review, contribution to experimental design, conducting of laboratory trials and dissemination of findings to both internal and external parties e.g. CAST (The Centre for Applied Science and Technology, Home Office).