Developmental validation of the PowerPlex® 18E System: An 8-Dye STR multiplex for human identification applications

The PowerPlex® 18E System is an 18-locus, eight-dye, STR multiplex optimized for use with the Spectrum CE System and Spectrum Compact CE System. It simultaneously amplifies all 12 ENFSI-recommended loci along with SE33, D2S1338, D16S539, D19S433 and two biological sex-determining loci. In addition, there are two Quality Indicators that provide indications of sample quality and amplification performance. The PowerPlex® 18E System is designed to amplify DNA from purified extracts as well as direct amplification of database sample substrates. The availability of 8 colors allows all loci to be less than 325 bp, including SE33, thus increasing a laboratory’s chance of success with degraded and challenging samples. A multi-laboratory developmental validation study was performed for the PowerPlex® 18E System following SWGDAM guidelines. The results of the study demonstrate the reliability and robustness of the PowerPlex® 18E System for use in human identification DNA typing applications.