Effects of Presumptive Test Reagents on the Ability to Obtain Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) Patterns from Human Blood and Semen Stains

Some of the commonly used presumptive test reagents for identification of blood and semen could potentially affect the recovery of intact high-molecular-weight deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from evidentiary samples. Thus, the capability of performing restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) ana...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of forensic sciences 1991-05, Vol.36 (3), p.656-661
Main Authors: Hochmeister, MN, Budowle, B, Baechtel, FS
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aniline Compounds
Benzidines
Biotechnology
Blood Stains
Coloring Agents
DNA - analysis
DNA - blood
Female
Forensic hematology
Humans
Indoles
Luminol
Male
Phenolphthalein
Phenolphthaleins
Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
Rosaniline Dyes
Semen - chemistry
Thymolphthalein
Vaginal Smears
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Summary:Some of the commonly used presumptive test reagents for identification of blood and semen could potentially affect the recovery of intact high-molecular-weight deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from evidentiary samples. Thus, the capability of performing restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis on evidentiary samples could be compromised. In order to investigate the potential effects of presumptive test reagents on the DNA present in these samples, bloodstains on cotton and glass were exposed directly to luminol, benzidine, phenolphthalein, o-tolidine, and leucomalachite green, while semen stains and vaginal swabs containing semen were exposed directly to bromochloroindolyl phosphate (BCIP) and sodium thymolphthalein monophosphate (STMP) reagents. The yield gels for DNA quality and quantity and RFLP results indicated that bloodstains exposed to luminol, benzidine dissolved in ethanol, and phenolphthalein, as well as semen stains and vaginal swabs exposed to BCIP and STMP yield RFLP patterns consistent with that of the uncontaminated control. Except for the phenolphthalein treatment, the quantity of extractable, high-molecular-weight DNA obtained was comparable with that of untreated stains. Therefore, evidentiary material purposely or inadvertently contaminated with these reagents can be successfully typed. However, stains exposed to benzidine dissolved in glacial acetic acid, leucomalachite green, and o-tolidine failed to yield high-molecular-weight DNA or to produce any RFLP patterns.
ISSN:0022-1198
1556-4029
DOI:10.1520/JFS13074J