Forensic Applications of Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology has a great influence on modern technology, just like the development of DNA profiling on biotechnology in the past 50 years. Because of applying knowledge and techniques from natural science, forensic science aims to identify, individualize and evaluate evidence. Evidence will then be used to reconstruct crime scenes, guide investigations and bring criminals to justice. Nanotechnology has been applied towards these purposes. Among the various nanotechnologies, nano‐analysis is most commonly seen in forensic science with instrumentations including transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM) and Raman microspectroscopy (Micro‐Raman). This paper will introduce the principles of nanotechnology, instrumentations, and known forensic applications. In addition, the toxicity of nanomaterials and future prospects will be discussed.