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Evaluation of a Freezer Mill for Bone Pulverization prior to DNA Extraction: An Improved Workflow for STR Analysis
Author(s) -
Morales Colón Emely,
Hernández Mireya,
Candelario Mariel,
Meléndez María,
Dawson Cruz Tracey
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.13551
Subject(s) - extraction (chemistry) , dna extraction , grinding , str analysis , mill , materials science , reuse , dna , pulp and paper industry , chromatography , environmental science , polymerase chain reaction , composite material , chemistry , microsatellite , waste management , allele , engineering , mechanical engineering , biochemistry , gene
Abstract Traditional methods for bone pulverization typically generate heat, risking stability of DNA sample. SPEX ™ has developed cryogenic grinders which introduce liquid nitrogen to cool the sample and aid in the grinding process. In this study, the Freezer Mill 6970 EFM was used with two DNA extraction methods and routine downstream STR analysis procedures. DNA from as little as 0.1 g of bone powder was used to develop full STR profiles after freezer mill pulverization, and the method was reproducible. Further, no contamination was detected upon cleaning/reuse of the sample vials. There were no significant differences in DNA yield, STR alleles detected, or peak heights using the freezer mill as compared to traditional grinding, and successful DNA profiles were achieved from as low as 0.1 g of bone powder with this method. Overall, this work indicates that this cryogenic mill method may be used as a viable alternative to traditional tissue grinders.