Capillary electrophoresis analysis of DNA primary structure: Toward a quality control test for the reliability of the STR-typing from forensic specimens

A capillary electrophoresis (CE) method was used to study the DNA primary structure of artificially degraded DNA samples and aged/forensic specimens. CE investigated the ratio between the pyrimidinic and the purinic canonical moieties still bound on the DNA backbone and identified the presence of additional compound (i.e. un-canonical DNA bases). The DNA samples were then analysed by using molecular assays such as agarose gel, UV spectrophotometry and qPCR. All these data have been concurrently considered for a critical evaluation of the outcome of the STR typing.