Life Technologies said this week that its GlobalFiler Express Kit has been approved by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation for use by laboratories generating DNA profiles for inclusion in the National DNA Index System (NDIS) CODIS Database.
NDIS manages the Federal CODIS forensic DNA database, which facilitates the electronic comparison and exchange of DNA profiles between participating local, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and forensic laboratories.
The GlobalFiler Express Kit is the first NDIS-approved, fully validated six-dye system that can be used to rapidly analyze forensic DNA samples in two hours. Introduced in the fall of 2012, the GlobalFiler Express Kit can increase the number of genetic markers obtained from forensic samples by more than 30 percent to 24, with a processing time that's five times faster than other commercial products.
"DNA examiners were able to use the Global Filer Express Kit to process a known reference sample from the suspect in a fraction of the time. This allowed the laboratory to connect a suspect to forensic evidence of an unknown sexual assault case," Kris Cano, forensic laboratory manager of the Scottsdale Police Department Crime Laboratory, said in a statement. "The GlobalFiler Express Kit is going to be an important tool for law enforcement to ensuring public safety."
To date, 44 countries have implemented criminal offender DNA database programs with a combined offender sample pool of 40 million and growing. The GlobalFiler Express Kit is the only commercially available forensic genotyping kit that contains all markers recommended for inclusion by the CODIS Core Loci Working Group, including all markers commonly used in most international databases, Life Tech said.
The DuPont BAX System has been certified by the AOAC Research Institute as a Performance Tested Method for detecting Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, or STEC, in beef trim and ground beef.
The AOAC Research Institute validated the BAX System method as equivalent to the reference culture method for detecting STEC, but with much faster time to results. BAX System assays for detecting E. coli O157:H7, Listeria spp., and many other pathogens are already PTM-certified. Further, AOAC International has awarded Official Method of Analysis status to the BAX System for detecting Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes.
The BAX System suite of STEC assays use real-time PCR and were developed in collaboration with the Agricultural Research Services of the United States Department of Agriculture.