Risolvere crimini di oggi e cold case studiando le impronte digitali. È questo l’obiettivo della ricercatrice Simona Francese. Il suo gruppo di lavoro opera alla Shellham University di Sheffield, in Inghilterra, ed è stato il primo al mondo a pubblicare in quest'ambito scientifico dimostrando risultati concreti.
Il team della prof. Simona Francese
Laureata in Chimica all’Università di Salerno, una volta arrivata nella cittadina britannica, dove insegna Spettrometria di massa forense e Bioanalitica, racconta di aver avuto “carta bianca”. E così ha deciso di mettere la tecnologia chiamata Maldi msi (Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption ionization Mass Spectrometry Imaging) al servizio delle scienze forensi. Utilizzando questa tecnica, ci racconta, l’impronta non è più solo l’elemento identificativo di un soggetto, ma diventa “un’enorme banca dati” di molecole, informazioni che diventano di grande supporto per gli investigatori.
Cibo, bevande, medicinali, droghe e altre sostanze che vengono ingerite vengono eliminate col sudore e vengono depositate quando si tocca una superficie. Identificando le diverse molecole contenuto nelle impronte digitali è possibile ottenere molte informazioni sullo stato mentale di chi ha commesso un crimine, insieme ai comportamenti precedenti il reato. Una scoperta rivoluzionaria che ha permesso al team di ricerca di Sheffield di essere coinvolto in casi internazionali di stalking, aggressione e perfino di omicidio, nonché in un delitto irrisolto compiuto 37 anni fa.
Chiara Bruschi
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