The corpses of murder victims could betray the identity of their killers thanks to a new technique that can capture even faint fingerprints left on a body.
The method makes use of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). This involves firing a laser beam at a material, allowing its composition to be identified from the wavelengths of light scattered. SERS can also be used to image the distribution of a substance in a material.
Spotting a fingerprint involves applying a solution containing silver nanoparticles to the skin. SERS is then used to image the silver, which sticks to skin secretions.…
