Researchers say the prints should be much sharper.

Police currently use powders which pick up prints because the oil from fingers has a natural tackiness.

Now researchers from Sunderland University are developing a nanoparticle dust which actively seeks out any oil.

The new dust should provide a much more detailed fingerprint, according to New Scientist magazine.

The nanoparticles are tiny glass spheres between 200 and 600 nanometres in diameter and are too small to be seen individually by the human eye.

Lead researcher Fred Rowell said the nanoparticles should pick out even the faintest of prints because they are able to stick to tiny traces of oil.

He also said 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, has been presented to police officials at the Nanotechnology in Crime Prevention and Detection conference.