chemical fingerprint


Also found in: Medical.

chemical fingerprint

n.
A unique pattern indicating the presence of a particular molecule, based on specialized analytic techniques such as mass- or x-ray-spectroscopy, used to identify a pollutant, drug, contaminant, or other chemical in a test sample.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
References in periodicals archive ?
The research from Cornell University in the US looks at the "chemical fingerprint" of methane in the atmosphere and concludes that around a third in the past decade has come from exploiting shale gas.
The Pen is then plugged into a mass spectrometer that produces a chemical fingerprint that tells doctors if they are looking at healthy tissue or cancer.
Luckily, if a cloud of ionised hydrogen sits between Earth and a source of ultraviolet light, that hydrogen will absorb certain wavelengths, leaving a distinct chemical fingerprint that astronomers can detect once it reaches their telescopes.
This results in a kind of chemical fingerprint that researchers and doctors can use to determine whether the cell is healthy or cancerous.
They tested the rock from Mount Garibaldi, which is more than 100 km away from Dionisio Point on the mainland, and the rock found on the village beach, and the chemical fingerprint matched.
The samples are analysed by computer software to generate a chemical fingerprint, which is used to determine a person's general health or the progress of a disease.
The samples are then analysed by computer software to generate a chemical fingerprint, which is used to determine a person's general health or the progress of a disease.
Chameleon is a paint containing a unique chemical fingerprint made up of rare earth elements, said Nina Hobson, executive director of Chameleon Asset Protection, which was formed in 2012 after the product was developed.