Mitochondrial and STR DNA Analysis by Mass Spectrometry Using the Ibis Biosciences Platform

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), in conjunction with the National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC), is sponsoring a series of workshops designed to help facilitate the transition of novel technologies into practice by operational crime laboratories. These Technology Transition Workshops, which highlight technologies developed under the NIJ’s forensic science research and development programs, are a critical component of NIJ’s research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) efforts. The purpose of this Technology Transition Workshop is to provide the student with an introduction to biological mass spectrometry; the Ibis T5000™ and T6000™ platforms, their applications, and assay protocols; an overview of the T5000™ hardware and its maintenance; and the use of the Ibis software for data analysis. Students will also receive instruction on mitochondrial DNA analysis; mitochondrial DNA mixture detection, analysis, and interpretation; statistics of polymorphic STR alleles; and future directions of biological mass spectrometry. Use of the Ibis T5000™ Mass Spectrometer Platform will be demonstrated, allowing students to take samples that they amplify through analysis and data interpretation using Ibis mtDNA software.