With a greater reliance on the system than on the analyst, validation data are especially needed to define the performance and limitations of commercially available Rapid DNA systems. Rapid DNA platforms are fully automated systems capable of processing DNA from biological samples and interpreting the results in approximately 90 minutes with minimal human intervention. This review aims to provide the current research landscape for the forensic application of Rapid DNA as an emerging technology from a Disaster Victim Identification perspective. In a broader forensic context, however, another application for Rapid DNA is its use to process post-mortem samples to assist with the identification of deceased persons and while gaps in our knowledge remain as to how Rapid DNA instruments perform with these sample types (often compromised with regards to their yield and quality of DNA), they have been successfully deployed in the field to assist in the identification of disaster victims (as exemplified during the 2018 Californian wildfire). Recently, efforts have centred on the evaluation of Rapid DNA (without analyst review) and modified Rapid DNA (requiring review by a trained analyst) for application to crime scene samples. This review article tries to summarize current knowledge about WGA in forensics and suggests the forensic analysis of single-donor bioparticles and of single cells as promising applications.Īs an emerging technology, Rapid DNA has demonstrated its utility for law enforcement in the provision of DNA profiling data at the point of arrest, often not requiring analyst review of the profiles generated. In the meantime, however, novel improved methods are pointing towards a perspective for WGA in specific forensic applications.

Until very recently, based on these disappointments, the forensic application of WGA seems to have largely been abandoned. Their application in forensic contexts has so far remained mostly an academic exercise, and results have not shown significant improvements and even have raised additional analytical problems.

These methods aim at increasing the copy number of genomic DNA and by this means generate more template DNA for subsequent analyses. One suggestion to overcome these limits has been the usage of whole genome amplification (WGA) methods. Yet these techniques have reached their limits when it comes to the analysis of traces such as fingerprints or single cells. Modern PCR-based analytical techniques have reached sensitivity levels that allow for obtaining complete forensic DNA profiles from even tiny traces containing genomic DNA amounts as small as 125 pg.

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