Cyanoacrylate Fuming
Definition
A fingerprint development technique in which ethyl cyanoacrylate vapour polymerises onto eccrine sweat residue on a latent print, producing a stable, white polymer coating suitable for subsequent dye treatment and ALS examination.
- Active chemical
- Ethyl cyanoacrylate vapor (super-glue)
- Reacts with
- Amino acids and fatty acids in sweat residue
- Best for
- Non-porous surfaces (glass, plastic, metal, ceramic)
- Result
- Stable white polymer coating on ridge detail
Common questions
How does cyanoacrylate fuming develop a fingerprint?+
Ethyl cyanoacrylate vapor (from super-glue) polymerizes onto the amino acids and fatty acids present in latent fingerprints. This chemical reaction creates a stable, white polymer coating that makes the ridge detail visible on non-porous surfaces like glass, plastic, or metal.
What surfaces work best with cyanoacrylate fuming?+
This technique is most effective on non-porous surfaces such as glass, plastic, ceramic, and metal. Porous surfaces like paper or wood absorb the residue differently and require different development methods.
What happens after the white coating forms on the fingerprint?+
Once the cyanoacrylate polymer creates the white ridge structure, examiners can further enhance the print using dye treatment and alternate light source (ALS) examination. This allows better visualization and photography for comparison.
Related terms
- ACE-V
- Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, Verification: the four-stage method for latent print examination used by accredited forensic fingerprint laboratories. Analysis examines the latent in...
- AFIS / NAFIS
- Automated Fingerprint Identification System. NAFIS is the NCRB-operated national instance running on the Idemia Morpho engine, integrated with CCTNS under ICJS.
- AFIS Workstation
- A dedicated computer system with encoding software and database connectivity used by fingerprint examiners to encode latent minutiae, submit searches against criminal...
- Alternate Light Source (ALS)
- A device emitting light at selected wavelengths (typically 415 to 535 nm) used to detect biological fluids that fluoresce or absorb light...
- Chain of Custody
- The documented chronological record of who collected, handled, transferred, and examined a piece of evidence. For digital evidence, chain of custody includes...
- Crime-Lite
- A compact, battery-powered alternate light source system (Foster+Freeman) designed for scene use by scenes-of-crime officers; the Crime-lite 82S and ML2 are standard...
- Elimination Print
- A ten-print record taken from a person with legitimate access to a crime scene (officer, examiner, paramedic, property owner) held in a...
- Gel Lifter
- A tacky gelatin sheet used to transfer developed fingerprint impressions from textured or three-dimensional surfaces where conventional adhesive tape would not conform;...
- Glassine Envelope
- A smooth, semi-transparent envelope made from supercalendered wood pulp, used to protect developed latent print lifts, photographic records, and small paper exhibits...
- Latent Print
- An invisible or barely visible impression of friction ridge skin deposited on a surface by eccrine sweat and sebum, requiring a development...
- Minutiae
- Level 2 ridge characteristics (ridge endings, bifurcations, dots, islands, lakes, spurs, crossovers). The primary individuating features used by AFIS algorithms and human...
- Ninhydrin
- A chemical reagent (2,2-dihydroxyindane-1,3-dione) that reacts with alpha-amino acids in latent print residue to produce a purple-blue compound (Ruhemann's Purple); the primary...
Explained in these topics
- Fingerprint Development, Lifting and AFIS ComparisonSuper-glue (ethyl cyanoacrylate) vapour polymerises on amino acids and fatty acids in latent residue to give a stable white ridge structure on non-porous surfa...
- Lab Equipment and Chain of Custody for Fingerprint CaseworkA fingerprint development technique in which ethyl cyanoacrylate vapour polymerises onto eccrine sweat residue on a latent print, producing a stable, white pol...