New microfluidic DNA analysis system for forensics applications demonstrated by NIST.Modern forensic DNA analysis systems are currently based on the separation of DNA fragments by capillary 1. pertaining to or resembling a hair. 2. one of the minute vessels connecting the arterioles and venules, the walls of which act as a semipermeable membrane for interchange of various substances between the blood and tissue fluid. arterial capillary electrophoresis, a process which typically takes 40 min. Unfortunately, there is a large backlog of DNA criminal tests in the United States, prompting the need for the development of new methods. Using a microfluidic device, researchers at NIST have demonstrated a separation of a DNA ladder with fragments ranging from 50 to 550 base pairs in 4 min. This effort to develop a rapid DNA analysis system for forensics using microfluidic systems is being sponsored by the Department of Justice (National Institute of Justice, Office of Science and Technology, Investigative and Forensic Sciences Division's Program on DNA Research and Development). Microfluidic technology is a promising alternative to capillary-based techniques due to its great potential to miniaturize, simplify, integrate, automate, and multiplex the analysis with higher throughput and speed. Although DNA analysis systems based on microfluidics technology recently have been commercialized for DNA sequencing applications, these systems do not meet the specific needs of the forensic community due to poor separation resolution of the relatively long fragments (order 100 bps to 400 bps) as well as incompatibility incompatibility n. the state of a marriage in which the spouses no longer have the mutual desire to live together and/or stay married, and is thus a ground for divorce (dissolution) in most states even though the other spouse may disagree. (See: incompatible) with standard test procedures. The team involved in this effort includes NIST, the National Institutes of Health, Northwestern University, and a private company. CONTACT: Michael Gaitan, (301) 975-2070; michael.gaitan@nist.gov or Laurie Locascio, (301) 975-3130; locascio@nist.gov. |
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