Effects of Blood Enhancement Techniques on Short Tandem Repeat (Str) Analysis

In the field of Forensic Science, getting the most information out of the smallest bit of evidence is the goal of the scientist. With previous technology, large amounts of blood were needed to obtain any information from the sample. Blood enhancement techniques, specifically leucocrystal violet (LeV) and coomassie blue, have been used for years to detect trace amounts of blood on evidence. Once this trace amount of blood was found, patterns could be resolved but no information could be determined as to whose blood it was. Only recently have scientists been able to obtain a DNA profile with sufficient information to distinguish among most individuals. With the current technology or polymerase chain reaction (peR) a DNA profile can be generated from trace amounts of blood. This study examines whether or not these blood enhancement techniques have an adverse effect on obtaining a DNA profile. On all of the Coomassie samples that were analyzed, a DNA profile was obtained. Only a portion of the LCV samples, 44 of the 63, generated a DNA profile. This study demonstrates that the blood enhancement techniques of Coomassie and LCV can be used on samples without destroying DNA profiling potential