ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys developments in the area of ninhydrin and its analogues since the appearance of the second edition of Lee and Gaensslen’s Advances in Fingerprint Technology in 2001 [1].
Several reviews covering the chemistry, applications, and mechanistic aspects of ninhydrin appeared during this period, some of them speci€cally addressing forensic uses of ninhydrin and its analogues. In 2001, Hark et al. published an article on the synthesis of ninhydrin analogues [2]. A comprehensive review on ninhydrin, also addressing €ngermark visualization by M. Friedmann, appeared in 2004 [3]. A comprehensive chapter on ninhydrin and its analogues for €ngerprint detection appeared in Fingerprint and Other Ridge Skin Impressions by Champod, Lennard, Margot, and Stoilovic [4]. A year later, Hansen and Joullié published a review on novel ninhydrin analogues, also addressing the visualization of latent €ngermarks [5]. Another comprehensive review by Lewis et al., summarizing the development and use of amino acid reagents for the detection of latent €ngermarks on porous surfaces, appeared recently [6]. It includes a historical background, forensic signi€cance, and a general approach to the development of latent €ngermarks on porous surfaces.
