Comparative Analysis of Five Forensic PCR Kits in Duplets

In forensic DNA laboratories, it is important to conduct internal validations of the commercially available kits of short tandem repeat (STR) loci and to investigate their individual and combined effectiveness. This study aims to report on a comparative investigation of the forensic kits used in our...

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Main Authors: Tamás Cseppentő, Norbert G. Valis, Gusztáv Bárány, Bálint Megadja, Attila Heinrich, Nóra M. Magonyi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-07-01
Series:DNA
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8856/4/3/14
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author Tamás Cseppentő
Norbert G. Valis
Gusztáv Bárány
Bálint Megadja
Attila Heinrich
Nóra M. Magonyi
author_facet Tamás Cseppentő
Norbert G. Valis
Gusztáv Bárány
Bálint Megadja
Attila Heinrich
Nóra M. Magonyi
author_sort Tamás Cseppentő
collection DOAJ
description In forensic DNA laboratories, it is important to conduct internal validations of the commercially available kits of short tandem repeat (STR) loci and to investigate their individual and combined effectiveness. This study aims to report on a comparative investigation of the forensic kits used in our laboratory and their combinations in analysing low-copy-number (LCN) human DNA samples. We used five partly overlapping multiplex kits with different marker configurations from different manufacturers: the NGM Select<sup>TM</sup> PCR Amplification Kit, NGM Detect<sup>TM</sup>, the GlobalFiler<sup>TM</sup> Amplification Kit (Applied Biosystem<sup>TM</sup>, Foster City, CA, USA), the PowerPlex<sup>®</sup> Fusion 6C System (Promega Co., Madison, WI, USA) and the Investigator<sup>®</sup> 24plex QS Kit (Qiagen GmbH, Hilden, Germany). The efficacy of the kits was scrutinised by specific criteria, such as allelic dropout rate, the individually calculated Likelihood Ratio (LR) of consensus profiles and the LR value of the composite profile produced by the combined profiles of two kits. According to the results, the pairing of PowerPlex<sup>®</sup> Fusion 6C System and Investigator<sup>®</sup> 24plex QS produced the lowest, while the pairing of the NGM Detect<sup>TM</sup> and GlobalFiler<sup>TM</sup> kits provided the highest LR value. In summary, our study is meant to aid the selection of the optimal kit combination for samples of different qualities.
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spelling doaj-art-046c7ca7ff4e481cb8b6fbdccd1257742025-08-20T01:55:23ZengMDPI AGDNA2673-88562024-07-014321222010.3390/dna4030014Comparative Analysis of Five Forensic PCR Kits in DupletsTamás Cseppentő0Norbert G. Valis1Gusztáv Bárány2Bálint Megadja3Attila Heinrich4Nóra M. Magonyi5Department of Genetics, Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences, Mosonyi u. 9, H-1087 Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Genetics, Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences, Mosonyi u. 9, H-1087 Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Genetics, Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences, Mosonyi u. 9, H-1087 Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Surgery, Szent Margit Hospital Budapest, Bécsi u. 132, H-1032 Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Genetics, Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences, Mosonyi u. 9, H-1087 Budapest, HungaryDepartment of Genetics, Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences, Mosonyi u. 9, H-1087 Budapest, HungaryIn forensic DNA laboratories, it is important to conduct internal validations of the commercially available kits of short tandem repeat (STR) loci and to investigate their individual and combined effectiveness. This study aims to report on a comparative investigation of the forensic kits used in our laboratory and their combinations in analysing low-copy-number (LCN) human DNA samples. We used five partly overlapping multiplex kits with different marker configurations from different manufacturers: the NGM Select<sup>TM</sup> PCR Amplification Kit, NGM Detect<sup>TM</sup>, the GlobalFiler<sup>TM</sup> Amplification Kit (Applied Biosystem<sup>TM</sup>, Foster City, CA, USA), the PowerPlex<sup>®</sup> Fusion 6C System (Promega Co., Madison, WI, USA) and the Investigator<sup>®</sup> 24plex QS Kit (Qiagen GmbH, Hilden, Germany). The efficacy of the kits was scrutinised by specific criteria, such as allelic dropout rate, the individually calculated Likelihood Ratio (LR) of consensus profiles and the LR value of the composite profile produced by the combined profiles of two kits. According to the results, the pairing of PowerPlex<sup>®</sup> Fusion 6C System and Investigator<sup>®</sup> 24plex QS produced the lowest, while the pairing of the NGM Detect<sup>TM</sup> and GlobalFiler<sup>TM</sup> kits provided the highest LR value. In summary, our study is meant to aid the selection of the optimal kit combination for samples of different qualities.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8856/4/3/14forensic STR kitsdual-amplification strategylikelihood ratioallelic dropout ratesexperimental investigationlow-copy-number DNA samples
spellingShingle Tamás Cseppentő
Norbert G. Valis
Gusztáv Bárány
Bálint Megadja
Attila Heinrich
Nóra M. Magonyi
Comparative Analysis of Five Forensic PCR Kits in Duplets
DNA
forensic STR kits
dual-amplification strategy
likelihood ratio
allelic dropout rates
experimental investigation
low-copy-number DNA samples
title Comparative Analysis of Five Forensic PCR Kits in Duplets
title_full Comparative Analysis of Five Forensic PCR Kits in Duplets
title_fullStr Comparative Analysis of Five Forensic PCR Kits in Duplets
title_full_unstemmed Comparative Analysis of Five Forensic PCR Kits in Duplets
title_short Comparative Analysis of Five Forensic PCR Kits in Duplets
title_sort comparative analysis of five forensic pcr kits in duplets
topic forensic STR kits
dual-amplification strategy
likelihood ratio
allelic dropout rates
experimental investigation
low-copy-number DNA samples
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8856/4/3/14
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AT norbertgvalis comparativeanalysisoffiveforensicpcrkitsinduplets
AT gusztavbarany comparativeanalysisoffiveforensicpcrkitsinduplets
AT balintmegadja comparativeanalysisoffiveforensicpcrkitsinduplets
AT attilaheinrich comparativeanalysisoffiveforensicpcrkitsinduplets
AT norammagonyi comparativeanalysisoffiveforensicpcrkitsinduplets