title: An evaluation of the RapidHIT(®) system for reliably genotyping reference samples.
abstract: Short tandem repeat (STR) typing is used routinely for associating or excluding individuals with biological evidence left at a crime scene. Improvements have been made to reduce the turnaround time and labor involved with profile generation, but there is still some lag time between sample collection and interpretation of results. The RapidHIT(®) (IntegenX; Pleasanton, CA, USA) system is an automated instrument that is configured to perform DNA extraction, bead-based DNA normalization, amplification, electrophoresis of PCR amplicons, and data analysis of five reference swabs simultaneously. The RapidHIT system provided reliable STR profiles from reference buccal swabs in approximately 90min with nominal "hands-on" sample loading time with no evidence of contamination between samples. The overall success rate of typing buccal swabs was comparable to standard typing systems. In the event of a failed run due to instrument failure, the swab can be removed from the cartridge and reanalyzed in the RapidHIT system or with standard STR genotyping workflows.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Genetics, Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA. Electronic address: bobby.larue@unthsc.edu.
authors.forename: Bobby L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: LaRue
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Genetics, Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Genetics, Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Genetics, Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Pamela L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.affiliation: Institute of Applied Genetics, Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX, USA; Center of Excellence in Genomic Medicine Research (CEGMR), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Budowle
mesh_terms: D057205:Automation, Laboratory / Q000295:instrumentation*; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting / Q000295:instrumentation*; D053803:Forensic Genetics / Q000295:instrumentation; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Automated STR typing; R-DNA; Rapid DNA; Rapid genotyping; STR