The New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner published a NIJ-funded study (Grant 2012-DN-BX-K043) examining DNA extraction methods for mixed low-template samples from touched items.

Among the methods tested, was the forensicGEM Universal kit which gave the highest DNA recovery for high-fraction profiles from fingerprints and epithelial cells.

The study also confirmed: glass preserves DNA from fingerprints better than metal over time; partial fingerprints can be sectioned and processed independently; as few as 10 single cells produce database-eligible STR profiles when extraction is handled correctly.