DETECTIVES believe a breakthrough by a North-East University could be one of the most important advances in forensic science since fingerprinting.

Experts at the University of Sunderland are developing a method of lifting fingerprints that will make it impossible for villains to wipe away the evidence.

Researchers at School of Health, Natural and Social Sciences are developing what is known as a nanoparticle suspension, which could be a breakthrough for police forces across the UK.

The nanoparticle dust is made up of sticky miniscule particles, too small to be seen by the human eye.

Each one is between 200 and 600 nanometres in diameter. A nanometre is one billionth of a metre.

But their tiny size makes them act like magnets to oils.

Using millions of nanoparticles to create a dust makes them stick like a magnet to the oily residue left by a fingertip.

As well as being speckled with a fluorescent dye, they are coated with hydrophobic molecules, which are repelled by water and attracted to oil, fixing tightly to the fingerprint.

In tests, it gives a much clearer image of the whorls and ridges of the finger rather than the fluorescent powder currently used by detectives.

Current prints are sometimes not clear enough to lead to a suspect, but the nanoparticle dust should provide a more detailed picture, however small the amount left.

The first fingerprints were noted by Professor Marcello Malpighi as long ago as 1686 but it was not until 1856 that prints were used as a means of identification.

Sir William Herschel, who was the chief magistrate in Jungipoor, India, first used fingerprints on native contracts.

As his fingerprint collection grew, Sir William began to note that the inked impressions could, indeed, prove or disprove identity.

Sir Francis Galton, a British anthropologist and a cousin of Charles Darwin, began his observations of fingerprints as a means of identification in the 1880s.

In 1892, he published his book, Fingerprints, establishing the individuality and permanence of fingerprints. The book included the first classification system for fingerprints.

An actual record of criminal fingerprints was introduced in 1901, followed two years later in America.

Today, more than a billion finger prints are kept by law enforcement agencies working throughout the world.

The lead researcher at the university, Professor Fred Rowell, said: "The nanoparticles should pick out even the faintest of prints because they are able to stick to tiny traces of oil.

"They should be much sharper, with finer details which could be crucial to identifying a print."

The research, which is still in its early stages, was recently presented to police officials at a Nanotechnology in Crime Prevention and Detection conference.