New cell separation technique for the isolation and analysis of cells from biological mixtures in forensic caseworks

AIM: To isolate mucosal cells of the perpetrator in a sexual assault case from a complex mixture of his mucosal cells and the victim’s skin by micromanipulation prior to genomic analysis. METHODS: To capture and analyze mucosal cells we used the micromanipulation with on-chip low volume polymerase chain reaction (LV-PCR). Consensus DNA profiles were generated from 5 replicate experiments. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We validated the use of micromanipulation with on-chip LV-PCR for genomic analysis of complex biological mixtures in a fatal rape case. The perpetrator’s mucosal cells were captured from nipple swabs of the victim, and a single-source DNA profile was generated from cell mixtures. These data suggest that micromanipulation with on-chip LV-PCR is an effective forensic tool for the analysis of specific cells from complex samples.