Towards the integration of matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation mass spectrometry imaging into the current fingermark examination workflow.

A wide range of fingermark enhancement techniques (FET) is currently employed to visualise latent fingermarks at crime scenes. However, if smudged, partial, distorted or absent in the National Fingerprint Database, crime scene marks may be not useful for identification purposes. In these circumstances, a technology enabling chemical imaging of both endogenous and exogenous species contained within the fingermark could provide additional and associative investigative information, to profile the suspect's activities prior to the crime. Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MALDI MSI) has proven to be such a technique, enabling investigative information to be gathered, for example, on what substances the donor has come in contact with and what they have ingested. Nonetheless, to be employed, MALDI MSI has to be validated and its compatibility with FET tested for integration into the standard fingermark examination workflow. For the first time, a direct comparison has been made between the efficiency of a range of FET and MALDI MSI under different conditions. This information will build towards validation of the technology. Also, for the first time, MALDI MSI has been successfully employed as a sequential step following fingermark enhancement using many of the currently employed FET. Additionally, known enhancers have been "re-visited" by combining them with a MALDI matrix, providing both improved fingermark development and chemical species detection via MALDI MSI. The result reported here are good indication in favour of the integration of MALDI MSI into the current fingermark examination workflow for gathering additional investigative information.

Direct detection of peptides and small proteins in fingermarks and determination of sex by MALDI mass spectrometry profiling.

Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation Mass Spectrometry (MALDI MS) can detect and image a variety of endogenous and exogenous compounds from latent fingermarks. This opportunity potentially provides investigators with both an image for suspect identification and chemical information to be used as additional intelligence. The latter becomes particularly important when the fingermark is distorted or smudged or when the suspect is not a previously convicted offender and therefore their fingerprints are not present in the National Fingerprint Database. One of the desirable pieces of intelligence would be the sex of the suspect from the chemical composition of a fingermark. In this study we show that the direct detection of peptides and proteins from fingermarks by MALDI MS Profiling (MALDI MSP), along with the multivariate modeling of the spectra, enables the determination of sex with 85% accuracy. The chemical analysis of the fingermark composition is expected to additionally provide information on traits such as nutritional habits, drug use or hormonal status.