Date of Award
Spring 5-23-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department/Program
Forensic Science
Language
English
First Advisor or Mentor
Mechthild Prinz
Second Reader
Michelle O’Rourke
Third Advisor
Mark Desire
Abstract
The goal of this study is to internally validate the ANDE 6C Rapid DNA I-Chip reagent for use on disaster victim identification (DVI) samples. The internal validation tested nine samples each of postmortem blood, tissue, and bone. This study tested the instrument’s precision, accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility. Precision and accuracy were tested by confirming that the same sample run on the ANDE instrument and the Power Plex Fusion amplification system produced a DNA profile that is consistent with the known profile. Repeatability was tested through confirming the correct results are obtained for sample runs performed by the same operator. Reproducibility was tested by confirming the correct results for the same known samples were obtained when run by two different instrument operators. Two different sample treatments were tested for samples prior to being loaded. One treatment used the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner’s (OCME) organic extraction protocol and the other used the ANDE Corporation’s Bone Solution. This study concluded that further testing is required to complete the I-chip validation for postmortem DVI samples of blood, tissue, and bone. The observed problems concerned concordance and reagent failures. This study proposes that these issues were the result of too much input DNA causing overblown electropherograms.
Recommended Citation
Leichnam, Alexandra, "An Internal Validation of the ANDE Rapid DNA Instrument for Bone, Tissue, and Blood Samples" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/316