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DNA Analysis
Maximize results with the best tool for the job
Whether you're processing routine samples, highly degraded samples, or urgent request cases, Thermo Fisher Scientific provides best-in-class DNA analysis solutions to the forensic community. Choose from the proven performance of our family of genetic analyzers, the power of NGS, or the simplicity of rapid DNA to get more answers from your samples as efficiently as possible.
Count on our 3,700+ sales, service, and technical support specialists to provide answers that add simplicity, scalability, and speed to your workflow—enabling you to analyze your most difficult cases with complete confidence.
Featured forensic DNA analysis products
The Applied Biosystems RapidHIT ID System generates lab-quality forensic DNA profiles in only 90 minutes with one minute of hands-on time from single-source samples. Producing STR profiles has never been this fast and easy. The compact, easy-to-use RapidHIT ID System can be set up in a day in virtually any setting, and accompanying Applied Biosystems RapidLINK Software enables real-time access, review and control.
The Applied Biosystems SeqStudio Genetic Analyzer for HID is a 4-capillary, easy-to-use, and convenient benchtop system that delivers gold-standard STR fragment analysis and Sanger sequencing with just one click. It is easily used across a broad range of forensic STR kits and applications. Get the same answers you trust with the outstanding data quality, service, and support you’ve come to expect from Applied Biosystems instruments.
The SeqStudio Flex Genetic Analyzer, available in both an 8- and 24-capillary format, incorporates a built-in touchscreen computer, data collections software, and continuously accessible four-plate deck. The complete system combines the instrument with Applied Biosystems STR kits, reagents, consumables, and GeneMapper ID-X Software v1.7, as well as industry-leading support, providing an integrated HID solution that significantly improves ease of use and application efficiency.
The Applied Biosystems Precision ID NGS System for human identification can help you solve tough cases by getting more information from your challenging samples. By combining the Ion Chef System and either of the Ion GeneStudio S5 next-generation sequencing systems with Applied Biosystems Precision ID panels that include forensically relevant markers, adopting NGS in your laboratory is now simpler than ever.
Which capillary electrophoresis system is right for your STR analysis?
| Fast and easy-to-use system | Easy-to-use, flexible system | Meets the needs of validated and process-controlled environments | Meets the needs of validated and process-controlled environments with connectivity and flexible scheduling options |
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| RapidHit ID System | SeqStudio Genetic Analyzer | 3500 Series Genetic Analyzers | SeqStudio Flex Genetic Analyzer |
Number of capillaries/cartridges | 1 | 4 | 8 (3500), 24 (3500xL) | 8 (3500), 24 (3500xL) |
Ease of use | Simple—no pipeting required | Easy, with one click universal cartridge | Moderate—some maintenance required | Moderate—some maintenance required |
Number of dyes | 6 | 8-dye capable | 8-dye capable | 8-dye capable |
RFID | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Polymer type | Proprietary polymer | POP-1 integrated into click-in cartridge | POP-4, POP-6, POP-7 | POP-4, POP-6, POP-7 |
Sample capacity | 1 | 1 standard 96-well plate or 12 standard 8-strip tubes | 2 sample plates (96-well) | 4 sample plates (96-well) |
Integrated plate stacker | No | No | 2-plate loading deck | 4-plate loading deck |
Applications | HID applications, arrestee testing, crime scene testing, and field testing | HID applications, fragment analysis, and sequencing | HID applications, fragment analysis, and sequencing | HID applications, fragment analysis, and sequencing |
HID applications run time | 90 minutes sample to answer | 39 min | 37 min | 37 min |
Maximum HID applications throughput (samples/day)** | 16 | 147 | 296 (8-cap), 999 (24-cap) | 296 (8-cap), 999 (24-cap) |
HID kits accepted | Sample cartridge includes STR master mix for GlobalFiler Express and NGM Select kits | All 5- and 6-dye STR kits from all vendors | All 5- and 6-dye STR kits from all vendors | All 5- and 6-dye STR kits from all vendors |
Sample type | Casework: RapidINTEL cartridge | Casework: purified DNA | Casework: purified DNA | Casework: purified DNA |
Database: Rapid ACE cartridge | Database: swab, treated or untreated paper | Database: swab, treated or untreated paper | Database: swab, treated or untreated paper | |
Use level of experience | Technician: forensic lab experience not required | Trained forensic scientist | Trained forensic scientist | Trained forensic scientist |
Applied Biosystems GlobalFiler STR PCR amplification kits combine reduced amplification time with maximum discrimination power. As part of the only fully integrated and validated forensic workflow, this breakthrough 6-dye, 24-locus technology is designed to deliver superior lab performance so you can do more with less.
The GlobalFiler kit is also available with an Internal Quality Control system, or IQC, as part of a fully integrated and validated forensic workflow. The IQC system consists of two synthetic sequences with specific primers for each of the targets (IQCS and IQCL) and provides positive confirmation of sample amplification, but can also indicate adverse conditions with compromised amplification, such as the presence of PCR inhibitors. The IQC system, also used in our VeriFiler Plus and NGM Detect kits, provides additional confidence in genotyping results, and can help users distinguish, for example, between inhibited and degraded DNA samples.
VeriFiler Plus and VeriFiler Express PCR Amplification kits are designed to meet challenging forensic casework and databasing needs globally. Utilizing our 6-dye STR chemistry, the VeriFiler kits contain a total of 25 markers—23 autosomal STRs, including Penta D and Penta E, and two gender discrimination markers.
With 11 mini-STRs, VeriFiler Plus kits are specifically designed for challenging sample types: touch, inhibited, or degraded samples, with improved sensitivity and robustness to inhibition. In addition, an Internal Quality Control (IQC) system assesses for the presence of inhibitors in the sample to enable distinction between degraded and inhibited samples, which can help forensics analysts make better decisions on how to further process problematic samples. The IQC system also verifies PCR amplification. Although optimized for casework samples, direct amplification of single-source reference samples using the VeriFiler Plus kit is also supported to enable laboratories process all sample types with one amplification kit.
The Applied Biosystems Yfiler Plus PCR Amplification Kit also leverages 6-Dye technology and contains 27 Y-STR markers that are valuable to use when evidence samples are difficult to resolve with traditional autosomal STR analysis, due to low amounts of male DNA present in a high background of female DNA.
mtDNA analysis
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Precision ID mtDNA Whole Genome Panel
The Applied Biosystems Precision ID mtDNA Whole Genome Panel uses an innovative approach to mitochondrial DNA sequencing specifically developed for forensic applications. This mtDNA tiling approach includes two primer pools of 81 small amplicons in each pool, with an average size of 163 bp to assist with obtaining optimal mitochondrial genome coverage data from highly compromised, degraded samples such as hair shafts, teeth, and bones.
Precision ID mtDNA Control Region Panel
Precision ID mtDNA Control Region Panel uses the same mtDNA tiling approach used in the Ion AmpliSeq mtDNA Whole Genome Panel. This targeted control region panel contains two smaller sets of primer pools with 7 amplicons each that span the 1.2 kb control region, which encompasses HV-I, II, and III.
The Precision ID mtDNA Whole Genome Panel, using the control region data for analysis, is approved for inclusion in the US National DNA Index System (NDIS) CODIS database.
SNP analysis
Precision ID Ancestry Panel
The Applied Biosystems Precision ID Ancestry Panel includes 165 autosomal markers (SNPs) that can provide you with biogeographic ancestry information and guide your investigation process.
Precision ID Identity Panel
The Applied Biosystems Precision ID Identity Panel, comprising 124 markers, provides discrimination of individuals similar to STR genotype match probabilities used by forensic analysts.
Ion AmpliSeq Community Panels for Human Identification
Ion AmpliSeq HID community panels are designed with input from forensic scientists and verified for performance, providing expanded applications in targeted sequencing for human identification applications. These panels can be ordered through ampliseq.com and are compatible with the Applied Bioystems Precision ID sequencing workflow. Available panels are the Ion AmpliSeq PhenoTrivium Panel, Ion AmpliSeq VISAGE (Visible Attributes through Genomics)-Basic Tool Research Panel, Ion AmpliSeq DNA Phenotyping Panel, Ion AmpliSeq HID Y-SNP Research Panel, and Ion AmpliSeq MH-74 Plex Research Panel.
STR analysis
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The Precision ID GlobalFiler NGS STR Panels include the same 21 autosomal STRs along with Y markers and amelogenin sex markers found in the Applied Biosystems GlobalFiler PCR Amplification Kit. In place of SE33, the Precision ID GlobalFiler NGS STR Panels contain additional multialellic STR markers, including Penta D and Penta E in the v2 panel for the Ion S5 System, to aid in mixture interpretation of complex casework samples.
Our Human Identification Professional Services (HPS) team has been helping customers like you successfully navigate the validation process required to bring new technologies into operation. At the core of our offerings are services designed to help forensic DNA labs integrate, validate, and implement new methodologies and technologies.
Forensic DNA analysis of challenging samples
Crime scene samples can originate from harsh environmental locations, which may result in various stages of degradation and contamination. Imagine a 20-year-old stamp that was stored away in a closet, trace amounts of blood from an exploded IED, a partially eaten piece of pizza, or evidence collected from an unflushed toilet? How would you begin to evaluate these challenging samples?
Featured resources
Documents
Webinars
Transforming the Forensic DNA Workflow: “In for a penny…in for a pound”
This webinar details the major updates made at the Washoe County Sheriff's Office Forensic Science Division. DNA Technical Leader Dave Jackson will describe these changes and discuss the improvement in services to the community that is expected to help solve crimes faster.
Finding the Right Tool for the Job: CE Tools that Improve Efficiency and Save Time
This webinar presents in-depth evaluations of CE analysis tools designed to minimize hands-on time and time spent on routine data review, enabling more complex sample analysis. In this webinar you’ll learn:
- How to streamline sample analysis by reducing pull-up artifacts
- Utility of the SeqStudio Genetic Analyzer and RapidHIT ID System for specific scenarios and sample types
Videos
Building a forensic DNA analysis lab
Liz Peters from Fiji Police Force discusses how bringing new forensic DNA technology into her lab has improved sample processing to help solve crime faster.
Identification of human remains from rebel’s graves: CE and NGS analyses
Forensic scientists at the State Forensic Medicine Service are working to solve one of Lithuania’s greatest historical mysteries—identifying the remains from an 1863 uprising. Marija Caplinskiene, MD, PhD, discusses how her team is using both capillary electrophoresis and next-generation sequencing to analyze DNA from recovered bones found in recently revealed graves.
Forensic DNA analysis of highly degraded samples
From understanding how body decomposition affects forensic DNA analysis to simulating IED explosions with the goal of finding touch amounts of DNA, Sheree Hughes-Stamm, PhD from Sam Houston State University describes her work on optimizing DNA extraction and STR analysis methods, and when to apply next-generation sequencing to her studies.
For Research, Forensic, or Paternity Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.