Forensic Products:
RSID-Urine: an addition to our existing line of rapid stain identification product, RSID-Urine is in development. For purely technical reasons, this test will use polyclonal antibodies for the detection of human urine. The laboratory is working to complete development and testing of this product. Anticipated release, Q1,2009.
Laser Capture Microdissection: This technique has the potential to dramatically increase the success rate of obtaining a CODIS quality DNA-STR profile from sexual assault evidence. In conjunction with P.A.L.M./Zeiss, Independent Forensics is developing the procedures, protocols, methods and kits that will be required to make this research quality instrument into arobust, reproducible work-horse for the forensic laboratory. Laser capture microdissection kits will of course make use of SPERM HY-LITER™ technology for the identification of sperm.
MBSS: Magnetic bead sperm separation - using the same monoclonal antibody technology used in SPERM HY-LITER™, the laboratory is working hard to perfect a magnetic bead method for the differential separation of sperm and epithelial cells. This approach has many advantages over the current, inefficient and time consuming approach of differential lysis that is widely used in forensic laboratories.
Post-PCR clean up: Although it has been understood for some time that the current post-PCR processing of DNA-STR reactions do little beyond concentration to increase signal intensities, the increasing requirements for better DNA-STR sensitivity clearly demands better laboratory methods.
Independent Forensics is developing the first post-PCR method that does not rely on simple concentration to provide a substantial increase in capillary electrophoresis signal.
Please feel free to contact our scientific staff.