Improved Analysis of DNA Short Tandem Repeats With Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

The advent of DNA typing and its use for human identity testing has revolutionized law enforcement investigations in recent years by allowing forensic laboratories to match suspects with minuscule amounts of biological evidence from a crime scene. Equally important is the use of DNA to exclude suspects who were not involved in a crime or to identify human remains in an accident. The past decade has seen numerous advances in the DNA testing procedures, most notably among them the development of PCR (polymerase chain reaction)-based DNA typing methods.