Photoluminescent semiconductor nanocrystals for fingerprint detection

The concept of utilizing photoluminescent semiconductor nanocrystals for la tent fingerprint detection, especially in concert with phase-resolved imagi ng for background fluorescence suppression. is reduced to practice with CdS nanocrystals that are capped with dioctyl sulfosuccinate. The nanocrystals are dissolved in heptane or hexane and are applied in much the same way as staining with fluorescent dye, on articles that have been pre-fumed with c yanoacrylate ester and also on the sticky side of electrical tape without p re-fuming. Since CdS can form a photoluminescent nanocomposite with dendrim ers, a feasibility examination of dendrimer tagging of fingerprints has als o been conducted.