Microfluidic Systems wins new US patent for DNA separation

The microfluidic cartridge technology was developed specifically to automate the separation of male and female human DNA from forensic samples specifically related to rape cases, the company said.

In determining the identity of a rape perpetrator, it is imperative that the DNA from the victim and perpetrator be separated prior to analysis such as with the polymerase chain reaction technique and/or DNA sequencing, the company noted.

Allen Northrup, president and CEO of Microfluidic Systems, said: “We are very excited about the issuance of this fundamental microfluidic cartridge device patent. This technology and similar technologies that Microfluidic Systems is developing for automated pathogen processing and detection should go a long way toward extending powerful molecular biology techniques into the field.”