Abstract
The AmpFlSTR((R)) MiniFiler (TM) polymerase chain reaction amplification kit, developed and supplied by Applied Biosystems, complements the AmpFlSTR((R)) Identifiler((R)) polymerase chain reaction amplification kit (Applied Biosystems, Warrington, U.K.) by improving the success rate when profiling DNA that is degraded or contains inhibitors. Before applying the MiniFiler (TM) kit to casework, the profiles from 200 unrelated Kuwaitis were compared to Identifiler((R)) profiles. Concordance was observed for 99.875% (1598 of 1600) of the compared STR loci. The two discordant profiles displayed allelic dropout: one at the D13S317 locus due to nonamplification of allele 10 in the MiniFiler (TM) profile, and one at the D18S51 locus due to nonamplification of allele 18 in the Identifiler((R)) profile.