STR typing of archival Bouin's fluid-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue using new sensitive redesigned primers for three STR loci (CSF1P0, D8S1179 and D13S317)

Three new mini-STR primer sets are suggested for three conventional STRs, CSF1P0, D8S1179 and D13S317, included in multiplex PCR kits commercially available and commonly used for DNA typing in forensic applications. The primer pairs for the three loci were redesigned in order to reduce or eliminate the flanking regions of the polymorphism obtaining amplification products, which have dimensions less than 120 bp in size. A comparison of results for typing carried out with the newly designed primers on DNA extracted from 100 blood samples provided by healthy donors, previously typed with conventional STRs, showed no genotype difference underlining their precision and reproducibility. The forensic usefulness of the new mini-STR primers was evaluated on highly degraded DNA from casework samples (e.g. archival post-mortem Bouin's fluid-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue specimens) for which commercial STR kit had proven inefficient.