Maggie McIntyre
Grade 9
Physical fingerprints are frequently used as evidence in forensic investigations. However, fingerprint evidence is often chemically tampered with. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the individual impact that two chemicals: sodium hypochlorite and isopropyl alcohol have on the DNA that can be successfully extracted from a fingerprint. The results collected from this research can inform the advancement of fingerprinting technologies. Fingerprints were taken on sterile pieces of filter paper and individually treated with five microliters of 5% concentration bleach and 99% concentration isopropyl alcohol. The DNA was extracted from each piece of filter paper and quantified in nanograms using qPCR. A negative control group with no DNA and a positive control group were utilized along with two positive control treatments. It was determined that sodium hypochlorite and 2-propanol decrease the amount of DNA found in fingerprint samples. t-tests revealed that sodium hypochlorite (p <0.0001) and 2-propanol (p <0.0001) contained significantly higher amounts of DNA than the negative control treatment, rejecting the null hypothesis. The data from this experiment may serve as a basis for future research in order to optimize forensic technologies.
Mentors:
- Mrs. Allison Hennings – IMSA/RISE Instructor
- Dr. Karen Visick (Ph.D.) – Loyola University of Chicago
- Dr. Peter Larson (Ph.D.) – Loyola University Medical Center Genomics Facility
- Mrs. Gabrielle Peterson – Glenbard South H.S.
