Rapid Microchip Electrophoretic Separation of Novel Transcriptomic Body Fluid Markers for Forensic Fluid Profiling
Initial screening of criminal evidence often involves serological testing of stains of unknown composition and/or origin discovered at a crime scene to determine the tissue of origin. This testing is presumptive but critical for contextualizing the scene. Here, we describe a microfluidic approach fo...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Micromachines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/13/10/1657 |
| _version_ | 1797471237958533120 |
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| author | Tiffany R. Layne Renna L. Nouwairi Rachel Fleming Haley Blair James P. Landers |
| author_facet | Tiffany R. Layne Renna L. Nouwairi Rachel Fleming Haley Blair James P. Landers |
| author_sort | Tiffany R. Layne |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Initial screening of criminal evidence often involves serological testing of stains of unknown composition and/or origin discovered at a crime scene to determine the tissue of origin. This testing is presumptive but critical for contextualizing the scene. Here, we describe a microfluidic approach for body fluid profiling via fluorescent electrophoretic separation of a published mRNA panel that provides unparalleled specificity and sensitivity. This centrifugal microfluidic approach expedites and automates the electrophoresis process by allowing for simple, rotationally driven flow and polymer loading through a 5 cm separation channel; with each disc containing three identical domains, multi-sample analysis is possible with a single disc and multi-sample detection per disc. The centrifugal platform enables a series of sequential unit operations (metering, mixing, aliquoting, heating, storage) to execute automated electrophoretic separation. Results show on-disc fluorescent detection and sizing of amplicons to perform comparably with a commercial ‘gold standard’ benchtop instrument and permitted sensitive, empirical discrimination between five distinct body fluids in less than 10 min. Notably, our microfluidic platform represents a faster, simpler method for separation of a transcriptomic panel to be used for forensically relevant body fluid identification. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:46:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5baf3d492bec4ddf880e72153670b752 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:46:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj.art-5baf3d492bec4ddf880e72153670b7522023-11-24T01:22:17ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2022-10-011310165710.3390/mi13101657Rapid Microchip Electrophoretic Separation of Novel Transcriptomic Body Fluid Markers for Forensic Fluid ProfilingTiffany R. Layne0Renna L. Nouwairi1Rachel Fleming2Haley Blair3James P. Landers4Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22939, USADepartment of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22939, USAInstitute of Environmental Science and Research Limited, Auckland 1025, New ZealandDepartment of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22939, USADepartment of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22939, USAInitial screening of criminal evidence often involves serological testing of stains of unknown composition and/or origin discovered at a crime scene to determine the tissue of origin. This testing is presumptive but critical for contextualizing the scene. Here, we describe a microfluidic approach for body fluid profiling via fluorescent electrophoretic separation of a published mRNA panel that provides unparalleled specificity and sensitivity. This centrifugal microfluidic approach expedites and automates the electrophoresis process by allowing for simple, rotationally driven flow and polymer loading through a 5 cm separation channel; with each disc containing three identical domains, multi-sample analysis is possible with a single disc and multi-sample detection per disc. The centrifugal platform enables a series of sequential unit operations (metering, mixing, aliquoting, heating, storage) to execute automated electrophoretic separation. Results show on-disc fluorescent detection and sizing of amplicons to perform comparably with a commercial ‘gold standard’ benchtop instrument and permitted sensitive, empirical discrimination between five distinct body fluids in less than 10 min. Notably, our microfluidic platform represents a faster, simpler method for separation of a transcriptomic panel to be used for forensically relevant body fluid identification.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/13/10/1657microfluidicselectrophoresismessenger RNAbody fluid identificationforensicfluorescence |
| spellingShingle | Tiffany R. Layne Renna L. Nouwairi Rachel Fleming Haley Blair James P. Landers Rapid Microchip Electrophoretic Separation of Novel Transcriptomic Body Fluid Markers for Forensic Fluid Profiling Micromachines microfluidics electrophoresis messenger RNA body fluid identification forensic fluorescence |
| title | Rapid Microchip Electrophoretic Separation of Novel Transcriptomic Body Fluid Markers for Forensic Fluid Profiling |
| title_full | Rapid Microchip Electrophoretic Separation of Novel Transcriptomic Body Fluid Markers for Forensic Fluid Profiling |
| title_fullStr | Rapid Microchip Electrophoretic Separation of Novel Transcriptomic Body Fluid Markers for Forensic Fluid Profiling |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rapid Microchip Electrophoretic Separation of Novel Transcriptomic Body Fluid Markers for Forensic Fluid Profiling |
| title_short | Rapid Microchip Electrophoretic Separation of Novel Transcriptomic Body Fluid Markers for Forensic Fluid Profiling |
| title_sort | rapid microchip electrophoretic separation of novel transcriptomic body fluid markers for forensic fluid profiling |
| topic | microfluidics electrophoresis messenger RNA body fluid identification forensic fluorescence |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/13/10/1657 |
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