chemical fingerprint

noun

1. a distinctive characteristic or pattern indicating the presence of a certain molecule, used to identify a chemical.

Example Sentences

"With a much higher salinity than the surrounding environment, the discharged water has a different chemical fingerprint than what the mussels are used to," said Nathaniel Warner, professor of CEE and corresponding author on the paper.

From Science Daily

And could they identify a kind of chemical fingerprint unique to the contamination from Dumpsite 2 and other offshore dump sites that could be used to distinguish them from pollutants emanating from the Palos Verdes Shelf?

From Science Daily

In the present study, the team tested for this larger suite of DDT-related chemicals, known as DDT+, in hopes that it could help develop a chemical fingerprint for Dumpsite 2 and the other offshore dump sites used by Montrose.

From Science Daily

This is known as ionization, and the light emitted in the process can be used as a sort of chemical "fingerprint" -- in the case of the T Cha system, tracing two noble gases, neon and argon.

From Science Daily

The researchers' study of the zircon showed that, in several ways, its chemical fingerprint matches those of some of the oldest rocks on the planet found in West Greenland's North Atlantic Craton.

From Science Daily