Papiloscopia forense: síntese de nanopartículas de magnetita (Fe3O4) para revelação de impressões digitais latentes

Abstract

Forensic science is the set of scientific knowledge and techniques used to investigate crimes and various legal matters. Among the various areas that this science covers is papiloscopy, which is the study of human identification through fingerprints. Fingerprints are basically natural secretions from the human skin and, when latent, are not visible to naked eye, requiring treatment to reveal them. Among the techniques used to reveal latent fingerprints there is the powder, the iodine vapor, the use of ninhydrin and the ethyl cyanoacrylate techniques. With the technological advances and aiming to gain quality and efficiency in the collection of latent fingerprints, the proposal of using magnetite nanoparticles for this purpose arises. The magnetite nanoparticles will be synthesized by the coprecipitation method, through the solubilization of iron (III) chloride and iron (II) sulfate in distilled water, under heating and magnetic stirring, followed by the addition of ammonium hydroxide, under constant stirring. The obtained product, after being characterized by scanning electron microscopy, will be applied with a magnetic brush on several surfaces containing latent fingerprints, with the purpose of revealing them. At the end of this study, it is expected to synthesize homogeneous magnetite nanoparticles which will present a clear revelation with good quality when applied on latent fingerprints.