Monofunctional curcumin analogues: evaluation of green and safe developers of latent fingerprints

Fingerprint development is one of the most useful techniques in forensic investigation. The powder method is widely used, as it consists of a non-destructive testing. However, some of the powders commonly used are toxic and dangerous to human health. In this sense, monofunctional analogues of curcumin (3a–e) are proposed as novel coloring powders for the development of latent fingerprints. Granulometric and scanning electron microscopy analysis were performed for a better understanding of the interaction between developers and substrates. The best results for the development of fingerprints were obtained with compound (1E,4E)-1,5-di-p-tolylpenta-1,4-dien-3-one (3b). Development with this compound was specific and allowed detection both from male and female donors. Also, in an in vitro experiment, compound 3b presented low cytotoxicity in a mammalian cell line. Based on that, a novel alternative for latent fingerprint developers was proposed.