This research project evaluated the use of a 96-channel microfabricated capillary array electrophoresis (mCAE) device for forensic short-tandem repeat (STR) typing, using PowerPlex 16 and AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) systems.
The study found that the combination of the mCAE genetic analysis system and the high discriminating power of STR typing provided a powerful new tool for human identification. Because of the ability of the mCAE device to rapidly process a collection of samples in parallel, it is particularly valuable in the face of the increasing number of samples submitted for DNA testing and the escalating casework backlogs. In addition, the mCAE device is amenable to integration with other small-volume sample preparation steps. Since the final volume of the amplicons analyzed was only on the scale of 1 nL, the incorporation of a small-volume PCR reactor and sample cleanup functions should produce high-throughput integrated STR analysis systems that are more cost-effective, efficient, and reliable because of reduced labor and manual processing and reagent use. The full use of microfabrication technology should lead to fully integrated portable STR analysis devices for onsite crime scene, mass disaster, and real-time forensic identification. The description of materials and methods addresses DNA sample preparation (mixture and single-source study and nonprobative samples), PCR amplification, mCAE fabrication and design, mCAE analysis and operation, data acquisition and analysis, and ABI 310 analysis at VDFS. 8 figures and 30 references