Department Chair

M. Scott Goodman, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry

Date of Award

1-2019

Access Control

Open Access

Degree Name

Forensic Science, M.S.

Department

Chemistry Department

Advisor

Douglas Ridolfi, M.S., Coordinator of Forensic Chemistry

Department Home page

https://chemistry.buffalostate.edu/

First Reader

Jinseok Heo, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Chemistry

Second Reader

Gregory Ebert, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry

Abstract

Fingerprinting is a valued part of forensic science analysis. It has been around for decades, and has advanced with the passing of time. There have been numerous studies of the different ways analysts have encountered fingerprints in the field—but none on those deal with the removal of tape from fabric. To investigate this, eight fabric types (a cotton/polyester mix, spandex, denim, jeans, fleece, flannel, polyester, and vinyl), three commercially available tapes (duct tape, black electrical tape, and packaging tape), have been stuck together and separated with four different techniques (manual pulling apart, Un-Du commercial adhesive remover, liquid nitrogen, and a 1:1 xylene-chloroform mix) and processed with WetWop to determine if usable prints can be obtained. Results have demonstrated that the best separation method for the widest range of fabrics and tapes is liquid nitrogen.

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