The object of this work was to investigate the validity of use of the synthetic fingerprint solution specified in present military establishment specifications. This was accomplished by comparisons with natural fingerprints and other synthetic solutions.
Two or three subjects with the most corrosive fingerprints were selected from the laboratory staff and their fingerprints were used for further comparative tests.
The specification synthetic print was found more difficult to remove than the most active natural print encountered during the tests conducted.
The specification synthetic fingerprint solution and other synthetic solutions investigated, despite moderate differences of concentration and constituency, were equally effective in evaluating fingerprint removing compounds.
On the basis of the limited evidence available, the specification synthetic fingerprint solution corresponds more closely to the concentration and pH of hand secretions normally encountered than do other synthetic solutions, which, in the main, are based on analyses of general body sweat.
