Abstract
Blood or muscle can be used as a DNA source for the genetic identification of recently
deceased persons. If the post mortem interval increases, bones and teeth are used.
In this case, collection and DNA isolation will be more difficult and time consuming.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of nails as an alternative DNA source
for the genetic identification of decomposed cadavers. DNA extraction from 5 mg of fingernails from 7 volunteers using 1 h cell lysis in a standard buffer and a DNA purification on QIAamp DNA mini kit columns
allowed to acquire a mean quantity of 100 ng DNA/mg nail. This was unexpected, as blood and muscle contain comparable amounts of
DNA. Our protocol allowed to obtain full PowerPlex 16 DNA profiles from 10 cadavers
characterized by post mortem intervals ranging from 5 days to more than 6 months.
The good quality of these profiles indicated that DNA from nail is well preserved.
In conclusion, nails are very easy to collect and contain large amounts of good quality
DNA that can be extracted within a few hours. They may therefore represent an attractive
DNA source not only for routine, but also for urgent genetic identification of decomposed
cadavers.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: September 09, 2008
Accepted:
July 23,
2008
Received in revised form:
July 2,
2008
Received:
April 18,
2008
Identification
Copyright
© 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
