Open AccessA Novel On‐Chip Method for Differential Extraction of Sperm in Forensic Cases
Author(s) -
Inci Fatih,
Ozen Mehmet O.,
Saylan Yeseren,
Miansari Morteza,
Cimen Duygu,
Dhara Raghu,
Chinnasamy Thiruppathiraja,
Yuksekkaya Mehmet,
Filippini Chiara,
Kumar Deepan Kishore,
Calamak Semih,
Yesil Yusuf,
Durmus Naside Gozde,
Duncan George,
Klevan Leonard,
Demirci Utkan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.201800121
Subject(s) - sperm , sexual assault , semen , bottleneck , extraction (chemistry) , dna , lysis , chromatography , dna extraction , biology , zygote , chemistry , andrology , computer science , genetics , poison control , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , polymerase chain reaction , embedded system , injury prevention , environmental health , embryogenesis
Abstract One out of every six American women has been the victim of a sexual assault in their lifetime. However, the DNA casework backlog continues to increase outpacing the nation's capacity since DNA evidence processing in sexual assault casework remains a bottleneck due to laborious and time‐consuming differential extraction of victim's and perpetrator's cells. Additionally, a significant amount (60–90%) of male DNA evidence may be lost with existing procedures. Here, a microfluidic method is developed that selectively captures sperm using a unique oligosaccharide sequence (Sialyl‐Lewis X ), a major carbohydrate ligand for sperm‐egg binding. This method is validated with forensic mock samples dating back to 2003, resulting in 70–92% sperm capture efficiency and a 60–92% reduction in epithelial fraction. Captured sperm are then lysed on‐chip and sperm DNA is isolated. This method reduces assay‐time from 8 h to 80 min, providing an inexpensive alternative to current differential extraction techniques, accelerating identification of suspects and advancing public safety.