This technology uses a hand-held device that sprays a solution on a surface to detach and suspend target DNA material. The fluid is vacuumed into a removable bottle. Using a concentrating filter apparatus or the spin method, the technology has obtained admissible results in cases where traditional methods have not worked. It has also been successfully used in cold cases. A few examples of such cases are presented in this article. One of the cases cited involved child sexual assault. The victim's underwear was sent to the State lab to look for biological fluids. The presumptive test for semen was positive, and the lab did traditional swabbing and cutting, but after several months, they reported finding nothing of value. The vacuum technology was then used on the remnants of the underwear, and the filter was sent to a private lab for processing. Testing determined that the primary profile from the underwear did not match the suspect's DNA.
Cutting-Edge Vacuum Technology Locates Hard-to-Find DNA
NCJ Number
248620
Journal
Techbeat Dated: January/February 2015 Pages: 3-6
Date Published
January 2015
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the use of wet-vacuum technology to collect DNA samples.
Abstract