Comparison of Isohelix™ and Rayon swabbing systems for touch DNA recovery from metal surfaces

Comparison of Isohelix™ and Rayon swabbing systems for touch DNA recovery from metal surfaces

A previous study evaluating two swabbing systems found that DNA was best recovered from sterile metal substrates using an Isohelix™ swab wetted with isopropyl alcohol rather than a Rayon swab with water as the wetting agent. We tested the same swabbing systems on metal (aluminum, brass, and stainles...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forensic science, medicine, and pathology Vol. 17; no. 4; pp. 577 - 584
Main Authors: Bonsu, Dan O. M., Rodie, Matthew, Higgins, Denice, Henry, Julianne, Austin, Jeremy J.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Springer US 01-12-2021
Springer
Subjects:
Cellulose
Comparative analysis
Criminology and Criminal Justice
DNA
DNA Fingerprinting
Forensic Medicine
Humans
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original
Original Article
Pathology
Specimen Handling
Surface active agents
Touch
Short tandem repeat (STR)
Metals
Rayon swab
Forensic Science
Touch DNA
DNA recovery
Isohelix™ swab
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Summary:A previous study evaluating two swabbing systems found that DNA was best recovered from sterile metal substrates using an Isohelix™ swab wetted with isopropyl alcohol rather than a Rayon swab with water as the wetting agent. We tested the same swabbing systems on metal (aluminum, brass, and stainless steel) and plastic substrates in a regularly touched environment to simulate the non-deliberate transfer of touch evidence likely seen in a casework scenario, to ascertain the performance of these swabs in an uncontrolled situation. Higher amounts of touch DNA were recovered with Isohelix™ swabs (0.5 – 3.3 ng) compared to Rayon swabs (0.13 – 1.2 ng). The Isohelix™ swabbing system was found to significantly recover more touch DNA (p = 0.04) from the metal substrates than the Rayon swabbing system, consistent with the findings of our previous work. The results contribute to our understanding of the impact of sample collection techniques on touch DNA recovery from problematic metal surfaces and suggest that supplemental cleaning of substrates as a precautionary step against the spread of infections may affect touch DNA persistence and the recovery efficiency of swabs.
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ISSN:1547-769X
1556-2891
DOI:10.1007/s12024-021-00423-8