| A novel, reliable, and optimized protocol for the isolation and purification of DNA via automation was developed. This design of the procedure was based on the performance characteristics relevant to the BioRobotRTM M48 Workstation (QIAGEN, Valencia, CA) and the MagAttractRTM DNA Mini M48 Kit (QIAGEN). The performance of the following variables was assessed: incubation time, cross-contamination, reproducibility, sensitivity, DNA recovery, and extraction comparison. A reproducibility measure of non-probative casework samples and the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST) Standard Reference Material (SRM) 2391b was confirmed by successful match of genotype profiles. Optimization to generate a higher yield is incorporated in the post-PCR amplification step. The results from this evaluation demonstrate that the BioRobotRTM M48 Workstation and the MagAttract RTM DNA Mini M48 Kit developed for the isolation of DNA is an accurate and reproducible method for use in forensic DNA analysis. |
