Comparative analysis of fingermark development on biodegradable and traditional plastic garbage bags

The escalating plastic waste crisis has increased the need for sustainable alternatives. Biodegradable plastics have emerged as a promising solution and are now frequently encountered at crime scenes. Although many studies have been published on the development of fingermarks on conventional plastics, limited research has been conducted on them on bioplastics. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of various fingermark development techniques on biodegradable (d2w) plastic garbage bags compared to traditional (Dumil) plastic garbage bags. Fingermarks were deposited on one of the two types of plastics and developed with one of the following methods: magnetic powder (MP), wet powder (WP), cyanoacrylate fuming (CAF) with Basic Yellow 40, or Vacuum Metal Deposition (VMD). After deposition, fingermarks were left to age for eight different time periods upon development, ranging from fresh (24 h) up to 50 days (about 1 and a half months). Results demonstrated that high-quality fingermarks could be obtained using wet powder and cyanoacrylate fuming, specifically on biodegradable plastics. The effectiveness of magnetic powder on both types of plastic declined over time, while vacuum metal deposition showed inconsistent results. Overall, in this study, fingermarks on biodegradable plastics exhibited more ridge detail than those on traditional plastics. The inability to achieve uniform zinc evaporation during vacuum metal deposition development may explain the differences in fingermark development between the plastic types. This research underscores the need for forensic methodologies for biodegradable plastics to ensure reliable evidence collection in criminal investigations. Further studies are essential to enhance fingermark development techniques for these emerging materials.