Developmental Validation of RSID-Semen: A Lateral Flow Immunochromatographic Strip Test for the Forensic Detection of Human Semen

• NCJ Number: 240850
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 57 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2012 Pages: 489-499
• Author(s): Jennifer Old, Ph.D.; Brett A. Schweers, Ph.D.; Pravat W. Boonlayangoor, Ph.D.; Brian Fischer, B.S.; Kevin W. P. Miller, Ph.D.; Karl Reich, Ph.D.
• Date Published: March 2012
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes the rapid stain identification kit for the identification of semen (RSID-Semen).

Abstract

Tests for the identification of semen commonly involve the microscopic visualization of spermatozoa or assays for the presence of seminal markers such as acid phosphatase (AP) or prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Here, the authors describe the rapid stain identification kit for the identification of semen (RSID-Semen), a lateral flow immunochromatographic strip test that uses two antihuman semenogelin monoclonal antibodies to detect the presence of semenogelin. The RSID-Semen strip is specific for human semen, detecting less than 2.5 nL of semen, and does not cross-react with other human or nonhuman tissues tested. RSID-Semen is more sensitive with certain forensic evidence samples containing mixtures of vaginal secretions and semen than either of the commercially available PSA-based forensic semen detection tests or tests that measure AP activity that were tested in parallel. The RSID-Semen kit also allows sampling a fraction of a questioned stain while retaining the majority of the sample for further processing through short tandem repeat analysis. Abstract published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons.