CdTe@SiO2/Ag nanocomposites as antibacterial fluorescent markers for enhanced latent fingerprint detection

Abstract This paper developed a facile method to synthesize CdTe@SiO 2 /Ag nanocomposites by coupling uniform Ag nanoparticles on core–shell CdTe@SiO 2 quantum dots via simple impregnation of CdTe@SiO 2 functionalized with amino groups in Ag nanoparticle sols. The obtained CdTe@SiO 2 /Ag nanocomposites show efficient fluorescence and effective antibacterial activities. Besides, because of the existence of SiO 2 , the CdTe@SiO 2 /Ag nanocomposites manifest strong adhesive affinity and chemical stability, allowing the long-term preservation of fluorescence and affording affinity with latent fingerprints. Thus, the CdTe@SiO 2 /Ag nanocomposites are explored as alternative fluorescent markers for latent fingerprint detection to provide better resolution, high sensitivity, and antibacterial activities. Meanwhile, the CdTe@SiO 2 /Ag nanocomposites may be used as alternative fluorescent markers for enhanced latent fingerprint detection on a variety of object surfaces in criminal science for individual identification.