DNA recovery and substrate considerations; more than a superficial relationship

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ABSTRACT

A comprehensive investigation into the substrate and deposit characteristics was conducted to address key physicochemical parameters that influence the substrate deposit interactions for the deposition, adhesion, transfer, recovery, and persistence of DNA containing biological materials. It was established that small changes in surface roughness and physicochemical interactions, including hydrophobicity, surface free energy (SFE), and protein adsorption, resulted in observable impacts on the spread and adhesion of touch, saliva, semen, and blood deposits. This finding may have consequences for the transfer, persistence and recovery of DNA deposits.

KEYWORDS:

• Substrate effect
• deposit interaction
• biological material
• adhesion
• persistence

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Colin Veitch (CSIRO/Deakin University), Institute of Frontier Materials (IFM), and the Fingerprint Science Group for allowing us to utilize their instrumentations.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).