We developed and validated the Investigator Argus X-12 QS Kit, which allows co-amplification of 12 Xchromosomal markers arranged in 4 linkage groups. The updated kit uses the Fast Reaction Mix 2.0 that allows short PCR cycling protocols and provides high inhibitor tolerance. The autosomal marker D21S11 was added to enable alignment of the Investigator Argus X-12 QS Kit profile with a profile from any other autosomal STR kit from the expanded CODIS or ESS markers, and to minimize the risk of sample mix-ups. A Quality Sensor (QS) was introduced as an internal control to monitor PCR performance. SNP primers were added to overcome allele drop out due to known mutations in primer binding sites. Furthermore, more alleles were added to the allelic ladder. 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Novel STR Multiplex PCR assays addressing the European STR standard set (ESS) of loci as well as the new expanded CODIS core loci set have been developed. The Investigator 24plex QS and 24plex GO! Kits cover the expanded CODIS set and are designed for the amplification of purified DNA from casework and reference samples, or direct amplification of common database samples, respectively. The Investigator ESSplex SE QS Kit covers the ESS loci and SE33. All three kits have an internal performance control, the quality sensor (QS), included as component of the corresponding primer mixes. QS allows the user to monitor the performance of the PCR and to distinguish between inhibited and degraded samples. 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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A B S T R A C TChallenging samples were processed using alternative quantification and STR PCR methods that include internal performance controls. These internal controls can be used to monitor potential inhibition or degradation of a sample. We compared the different workflows with regard to the predictive value the internal controls provided.