It turns out that fingerprints can reveal much more about a person’s identity than the unique ridge patterns of whorls, loops and arches that investigators have relied upon for more than 100 years to identify criminal suspects.
A new Fingerprint Molecular Identification (FMID) technology that can divulge a suspect’s gender, use of tobacco, medicines and illicit drugs, and exposure to explosives is being introduced this week by ArroGen Group, a Greenville firm, at the International Association for Identification’s educational conference in Sacramento, Calif.
The FMID technology represents a whole new category in forensic science. It will enable investigators to build a molecular profile of criminal suspects by analyzing chemical residues on fingerprints taken directly from a suspect or from fingerprints or other latent prints left at crime scenes.
“Fingerprint Molecular Identification will give investigators, prosecutors and government agencies a powerful new tool for human identification,” said Michael Heffernan, chief executive officer of ArroGen. “This unprecedented technology will empower their investigations and intelligence-gathering with indisputable scientific evidence, saving time and money.”
Nano Nano: SupraNano powders round up residues
ArroGen’s patented FMID process uses surface-engineered, silica-based SupraNano powders to capture chemical residues on fingerprints and state-of-the-art mass spectrometry to analyze the residues.
FMID, a non-invasive process, can detect gender biomarkers, nicotine use by tobacco smokers, chewers or snuffers, and chemicals used in improvised explosives. It can also detect illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, temazepam, marijuana and ecstasy, as well as legitimate medicines.
FMID for nicotine and drug use will be commercially available in the fourth quarter of this year, and applications for gender and explosives will be available in the first quarter of 2016.
ArroGen, with operations in Oxfordshire and Newcastle, England, is a privately held company that provides advanced forensic solutions and consulting services to help law enforcement, attorneys, forensic laboratories, and state and federal government agencies fight crime and terrorism.
The company provides fast and accurate biological screening and DNA analysis at its state-of-the-art laboratory, accredited by ISO/IEC 17025, the standard for technical competence and analysis in most major countries.
However, ArroGen is increasingly distinguished from other crime laboratories by its new human-identification technologies.
SNPing through a mixed bag of DNA
In addition to its FMID platform, ArroGen is developing a Quantam SNP (QSNP) Forensic Informatics platform that can discern the individual DNA profiles of up to five contributors to mixed DNA samples. QSNP can analyze about 1 million data points (called single nucleotide polymorphisms) across the human genome, compared to 16 genetic locations with the conventional method.
ArroGen is also marketing SupraNano fingerprint powders, which produce images with higher contrast, better clarity and less background staining than traditional powders, and SupraNano suspensions, which allow development of latent fingerprints found on wet surfaces.
Adding talent as technology expands
The new technologies helped ArroGen recruit two biotech veterans to its growing staff this summer. Peter A. Schad, Ph.D., was hired as chief science officer for biology, and Jennifer Vogt as laboratory technical leader for DNA.
Schad has 25 years of experience in business development, genetics, infectious disease, oncology, genomics, molecular biology, systems biology, bioinformatics, medical informatics, target validation, biomarker discovery and in silico (computer-simulated) biology. He will be responsible for ArroGen’s DNA-based human-identification technologies.
Vogt is a veteran DNA analyst who has worked hundreds of criminal cases during nine years as a DNA analyst with the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory Bureau in Madison. She will oversee all technical operations of the laboratory’s DNA analysis and contribute to quality assurance, training, safety and proficiency testing.
Schad and Vogt cited ArroGen’s forensic innovations as motivation for joining the company.
“ArroGen’s new technologies are bringing unprecedented power and precision to forensics,” Schad said, “so it’s a professional privilege to work with them and to maximize their application.”
Vogt said ArroGen is “developing superior technologies that I believe will transform forensics. I want to help incorporate these technologies into the company’s daily lab operations and offer them as new services that will help law enforcement and the legal process solve serious crimes, including complex crimes and cold cases.”
(C) N.C. Biotechnology Center
