Latent fingerprints are a common investigative tool used not only by police forces, but also by military forensic experts. One of the most routinely forensic investigation conducted within the Brazilian army is due crimes against the patrimony where fingerprint analysis is an efficient way of identifying perpetrators. DNA analysis of smudged or incomplete prints can be a complementary methodology making full use of the evidence. Considering the context of crime scene analysis within the Brazilian army, we assessed the use of sodium chloride 0.9% (NaCl) as a swabbing solution for DNA collection from fingerprints deposited on glass and metal surfaces combined with lysis solution methodology for DNA extraction. Also, we compared the results obtained from using Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate 2% (SDS), a common choice of swabbing solution. The data found in this study showed no statistically significant difference regarding the recovery of DNA from latent fingerprints between the two tested solutions. However, the use of NaCl 0.9% as a collection solution combined with lysis solution as an extraction method presents an advantage of less time-consuming and lower costs overall.
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Journal of Forensic Research received 1817 citations as per Google Scholar report
