Developmental validation of an efficient differential separation method incorporating the i-sep DL spin column with high sperm DNA recovery for the processing of sexual assault samples.

The differential separation method is key to recovering a DNA profile of the sperm donor from sexual assault samples. However, low numbers of spermatozoa from the perpetrator are often swamped by the victim's epithelial cells or lost during the separation process, with the separation process labor-intensive, time-consuming, and operator-dependent. The self-sealing filter of the i-sep DL spin column allows direct lysis of the substrate throughout the differential separation process while preventing intact sperm cells from passing through, maximizing DNA recovery, and separation of non-sperm and sperm cells present.