Allows agencies to expedite processing of DNA analysis, which is becoming increasingly important in criminal investigations, and deal with backlog of untested samples
PerkinElmer has launched a major new addition to its forensics portfolio, the new Multiprobe II forensic workstation.
The launch of this new integrated system comes on the heels of US president George W Bush signing the 'Justice for All Act' that will make post-conviction DNA testing available to anyone in the USA declaring their innocence in federal cases.
This five-year, US$1 billion programme contains substantial funding and incentives for US states that adopt similar DNA testing policies and streamline the backlog of 350,000 untested DNA evidence samples in various criminal cases.
Forensic identification of DNA evidence is becoming increasingly more critical in criminal investigations and felon databasing.
According to the Innocence Project, a Cardozo Law School legal board, 151 individuals convicted of serious crimes have been exonerated using DNA evidence.
PerkinElmer's new forensic workstation will allow the forensic community to increase productivity by up to ten times, eliminate human error, drastically reduce cross-contamination yielding high quality purified human DNA resulting in increased data integrity and traceability.
"The introduction of the Multiprobe II forensic workstation addresses a growing demand for DNA testing technology.
"With the federal government's latest commitment to offering comprehensive DNA analysis in post-conviction criminal investigations, we believe our latest technology provides law agencies a powerful new tool," said Peter Coggins, president of PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences.
"PerkinElmer is continuously developing and updating its forensic analysis portfolio so that it remains the preeminent solution provider for investigative laboratories worldwide".
The Multiprobe II is said to reliably perform automated DNA processing procedures including isolation, quantification setup (QPCR), normalisation and dilution, and typing PCR setup.
The company says the workstation offers industry-leading technology of onboard liquid handling system with the added benefit of bundled forensic application options to provide complete walk-away automation of forensic DNA analysis.
In addition, PerkinElmer provides several other DNA-related forensics products including chemiluminescent visualisation using DNA Thunder, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection system with AcyloPrime terminators, and EnVision multimode plate reader and MicroMax reagents with ScanArray reader for most chip-based DNA protocols.
The complete suite of forensic products also includes Clarus gas chromatographs (GC) and gas chromatographs mass spectrometers (GC/MS), TurboMatrix headspace samplers and thermal desorbers, Elan inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometers (ICP-MS), Diamond DSC/HyperDSC thermal analysers, AutoImage microscope systems, Spectrum Spotlight 200 FT-IR microscope systems, and the Spectrum Spotlight 300 FT-IR imaging systems.
