Enhanced Elution of Sperm from Cotton Swabs Via Enzymatic Digestion for Rape Kit Analysis*

doi:10.1111/j.1556-4029.2006.00112.x

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Wiley InterScience

Journal of Forensic Sciences

Volume 51 Issue 3, Pages 574 - 579

Published Online: 21 Apr 2006

The official journal of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences

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TECHNICAL NOTE

Enhanced Elution of Sperm from Cotton Swabs Via Enzymatic Digestion for Rape Kit Analysis^*

Jessica C. Voorhees, M.Sc. ¹ ; Jerome P. Ferrance, Ph.D. ¹ ; and James P. Landers, Ph.D. ^1,2

¹ Department of Chemistry, McCormick Road, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904.
² Department of Pathology, University of Virginia Health Science Center, Charlottesville, VA 22904.

Correspondence to Additional information and reprint requests:
Dr. James P. Landers, Ph.D.
Department of Chemistry
P.O. Box 400319
McCormick Road
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA 22904
E-mail: landers@virginia.edu

^*This work was presented in part at AAFS, 2005.

KEYWORDS

forensic science • cellulase • cell elution • differential extraction

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT: This report describes development of a method for enhanced cell elution from cotton swabs. The method exploits an enzyme mixture for digestion of the cotton to remove intact cells, and can be utilized in conjunction with or to circumvent conventional differential extraction (DE). Samples digested with Aspergillus niger cellulase yielded sperm cell recoveries (18±3.5%) similar to conventional DE buffer (23±7.8%) while providing intact epithelial cells. Storage time affected the concentration of enzyme required for optimal sperm cell recovery, with longer times requiring increased cellulase concentrations. Cellulase from A. niger yielded a twofold enhancement in sperm cell elution over buffer alone, and preliminary testing of higher activity cellulases from Trichoderma reesei and Trichoderma viride showed even greater enhancement. These results indicate that cellulose-digesting enzymes enhance the release of sperm and epithelial cells from a cotton swab over buffer alone, providing for efficient DNA analysis.

Received 1 May 2005; and in revised form 27 Sept. 2005; accepted 29 Oct. 2005; published 5 April 2006.

DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIER (DOI)

10.1111/j.1556-4029.2006.00112.x About DOI