Microchip-based forensic short tandem repeat genotyping

Abstract

Micro total analysis system (μTAS) or lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technology has advanced over decades, and the high performance for chemical and biological analysis has been well demonstrated with advantages of low sample consumption, rapid analysis time, high-throughput screening, and portability. In particular, μTAS or LOC based genetic applications have been extensively explored, and the short tandem repeat (STR) typing on a chip has garnered attention in the forensic community due to its special use for human identification in the field of mass disaster and missing person investigation, paternity testing, and perpetrator identification. The STR typing process consists of sample collection, DNA extraction, DNA quantitation, STR loci amplification, capillary electrophoretic separation, and STR profiling. Recent progress of microtechnology shows its ability to substitute the conventional analytical tools, and furthermore demonstrates total integration of the whole STR processes on a single wafer for on-site STR typing. In this review article, we highlighted some representative results for fluorescence labeling techniques, microchip-based DNA purification, on-chip polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a capillary electrophoretic microdevice, and a fully integrated microdevice for STR typing.

Keywords: Forensics; Integration; Lab-on-a-chip; Micro-total analysis system; Short tandem repeat.