Researchers in South Korea have developed an experimental technique that could help forensic laboratories recover both fingerprints and DNA from adhesive tape, potentially reducing the loss of valuable evidence during crime-scene examinations.
The study, published online on November 5, 2026, in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, investigated a solvent-assisted method for separating adhesive tape from cardboard while preserving biological material and fingerprint ridge detail.
Adhesive tape can provide several forms of forensic evidence. Investigators may recover latent fingerprints from its surface and collect touch DNA deposited when a person handles the material.
However, separating tape from porous surfaces can damage fingerprint impressions, disturb adhesive residues, and reduce the biological material available for subsequent DNA analysis.
Researchers from the Catholic University of Pusan and the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency investigated whether a controlled chemical separation method could improve evidence recovery.
The team evaluated a mixture containing dichloromethane and ethyl lactate in a 2:8 volume ratio.
This formulation was selected after researchers compared its performance in controlling adhesive separation while limiting damage to the underlying material.
The experiments involved three commercially available adhesive tapes attached to corrugated cardboard.
Researchers compared their experimental method against two commercial tape-release products, Un-Stick and PIC 10.
Following separation, the recovered fingerprint impressions were examined for ridge detail and suitability for forensic comparison.
The experimental formulation produced more clearly defined latent fingerprints than the comparison treatments under the tested conditions.
Researchers reported higher numbers of fingerprint minutiae and improved similarity scores from an automated fingerprint identification system.
Minutiae are distinctive ridge characteristics, including ridge endings and bifurcations, that forensic examiners use when comparing fingerprint impressions.
The team subsequently investigated whether DNA could still be recovered from the tape samples after fingerprint development.
DNA was successfully recovered from all tested tape samples.
Most samples produced complete or nearly complete short tandem repeat profiles containing a high proportion of the alleles expected from the corresponding reference donors.
Short tandem repeat profiling is widely used in forensic identification because it examines variable regions of human DNA that can help distinguish individuals.
The findings suggest that carefully controlled tape separation may allow laboratories to preserve two potentially valuable types of evidence from the same item.
However, the researchers emphasized that their work represents a proof of concept rather than a fully validated operational procedure.
The experiments were limited to selected commercial tapes and corrugated cardboard under controlled laboratory conditions.
The study did not establish that the technique would perform equally well on other surfaces, aged evidence, contaminated materials, or complex real-world crime-scene samples.
Further validation would be necessary before the method could be recommended for routine forensic casework.
The findings nevertheless highlight the importance of considering multiple forensic examinations when processing a single item of evidence.
By improving the preservation of fingerprints and DNA, future refinements of the technique could help laboratories obtain more investigative information while reducing unnecessary evidence loss.