Forensic scientists have developed a test that can match a suspect’s DNA to crime scene samples in just four hours.
The new technique could greatly speed up forensic testing, making the process almost as easy as matching fingerprints. Police could check whether a suspect’s DNA matches profiles in a database before a decision is taken on whether to release them from custody.
A team led by Andrew Hopwood from the FSS and Frederic Zenhausern from the Center for Applied NanoBioscience and Medicine in Arizona, US, set out to develop a system capable of processing a sample and generating a profile within a six-hour window.
The researchers built an instrument with a DNA processing cartridge and a special chip to analyse samples from a cotton swab. Forensic technicians can collect DNA from suspects by swabbing the insides of their mouths, mixing the sample with a few chemicals, and warming it up. The device does the rest, producing a genetic profile that can be compared against crime samples in a database. The process, from taking a cheek sample, to the production of a profile, takes about four hours. But in order to get the most out of the technology, they argue, it must be supported by a capability that allows law enforcement officers to search for matches in real time.
Neither the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) CoDIS DNA database, nor the UK National DNA database can currently support rapid DNA testing technology. Read more here.