Chemical Visualization of Sweat Pores in Fingerprints Using GO-Enhanced TOF-SIMS

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) has been used in imaging of small molecules (<500 Da) in fingerprints, such as gunshot residues and illicit drugs. However, identifying and mapping relatively high mass molecules are quite difficult owing to insufficient ion yield of their molecular ions. In this report, graphene oxide (GO)-enhanced TOF-SIMS was used to detect and image relatively high mass molecules such as poison, alkaloids (>600 Da) and controlled drugs, and antibiotics (>700 Da) in fingerprints. Detail features of fingerprints such as the number and distribution of sweat pores in a ridge and even the delicate morphology of one pore were clearly revealed in SIMS images of relatively high mass molecules. The detail features combining with identified chemical composition were sufficient to establish a human identity and link the suspect to a crime scene. The wide detectable mass range and high spatial resolution make GO-enhanced TOF-SIMS a promising tool in accurate and fast analysis of fingerprints, especially in fragmental fingerprint analysis.