| Forensic science cases often have little evidence left at a crime scene. Thus, a method to amplify small amounts of DNA and provide phenotypic information to law enforcement would be beneficial. We propose a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approach over traditional uniplex PCR, to determine ABO blood type, gender, and age from a single tooth. DNA was isolated and purified. We used published primers for blood typing and gender determination, and an original primer for age determination. Once successful uniplex PCR results were obtained for all three characteristics (seven primers total), multiplex PCR was performed. Gender and blood type, as well as gender and age amplification, proved successful, but combining all three proved unsuccessful after repeated attempts. Despite this limitation, successful multiplexing of ABO blood typing and gender has not yet been described. Other prospective applications of this research include prenatal testing and medicine. |
