Bardole Method ®
Whether DNA is thought to be burned off from the heat after firing rounds from a weapon, or if the surface is viewed as too smooth to collect those tiny skin cells, getting a DNA profile from traditional swabbing methods presents a unique forensic challenge. Getting DNA profiles off spent shell casings and small items of evidence has created a next to impossible challenge in the past.
Enter the Bardole Method, a revolutionary technique able to obtain DNA from spent shell casings as well as other small items of evidence which have often been overlooked. With the discovery of the Bardole Method, DNA is obtainable from those little nooks and crannies that were once considered unobtainable. It is essential items are not cross contaminated with chemicals, fuming, latent print powders or handled without sterile gloves and mask prior to submitting for Bardole Method DNA extraction. NIBIN entry can easily be done after processing with the Bardole Method.
Elsevier Science and Justice Journal
Forensic touch DNA recovery from metal surfaces- A review by Dan Osei Mensah Bonsu, Denice Higgins, Jeremy J. Austin
3.4. Bardole M-VAC method
This technique was developed by Francine Bardole of West Jordan Utah Police Department with support of Microbial Vacuum Systems Incorporated (M-Vac Systems Inc). It is the most recent of methods aimed at enhancing nucleic acid recovery from problematic metal surfaces and has been acclaimed by some forensic scientists as “revolutionary.” The M-Vac is a sterile-wet vacuum that loosens and sucks trace DNA evidence from samples that are difficult to swab for subsequent extraction. The initial concept entailed washing down spent cartridge casings in a sterile buffer to cause skin cells to loosen into solution, followed by a filtering process that collects the cells for DNA extraction. The human skin sheds cells as part of a homeostatic regulation and, at least 500 million skin cells are lost per day composed of fragmented or cell-free DNA enough to yield a genetic profile via PCR. Spent casings typically have rough surfaces with many divots and grooves and microscopic crevices into which shed skin cells can embed, limiting the prospect of obtaining DNA evidence by swabbing from the surface. Bardole, utilizing this prior knowledge and experience of working with an M-Vac, applied the concept to a shell casing which was the only evidence available in an unsolved case involving a random road-rage shooting incident. The quantified extract yielded 0.847ng of DNA and resulted in a full profile which matched the reference sample from a suspect leading to a rightful conviction. In collaboration with M-Vac Systems, the "Bardole DNA Collection Method" was developed and is now a subject of scientific validation research.
The Bardole method is relatively simple, expeditious, and does not cause leaching of metallic ions, which causes DNA damage or erodes ballistically vital rifling as in the soaking method. Furthermore, it increases DNA yield to the extent not possible with standard swabbing due to its ability to recover shed cells from small irregularities on the metal surface.
Enter the Bardole Method, a revolutionary technique able to obtain DNA from spent shell casings as well as other small items of evidence which have often been overlooked. With the discovery of the Bardole Method, DNA is obtainable from those little nooks and crannies that were once considered unobtainable. It is essential items are not cross contaminated with chemicals, fuming, latent print powders or handled without sterile gloves and mask prior to submitting for Bardole Method DNA extraction. NIBIN entry can easily be done after processing with the Bardole Method.
Elsevier Science and Justice Journal
Forensic touch DNA recovery from metal surfaces- A review by Dan Osei Mensah Bonsu, Denice Higgins, Jeremy J. Austin
3.4. Bardole M-VAC method
This technique was developed by Francine Bardole of West Jordan Utah Police Department with support of Microbial Vacuum Systems Incorporated (M-Vac Systems Inc). It is the most recent of methods aimed at enhancing nucleic acid recovery from problematic metal surfaces and has been acclaimed by some forensic scientists as “revolutionary.” The M-Vac is a sterile-wet vacuum that loosens and sucks trace DNA evidence from samples that are difficult to swab for subsequent extraction. The initial concept entailed washing down spent cartridge casings in a sterile buffer to cause skin cells to loosen into solution, followed by a filtering process that collects the cells for DNA extraction. The human skin sheds cells as part of a homeostatic regulation and, at least 500 million skin cells are lost per day composed of fragmented or cell-free DNA enough to yield a genetic profile via PCR. Spent casings typically have rough surfaces with many divots and grooves and microscopic crevices into which shed skin cells can embed, limiting the prospect of obtaining DNA evidence by swabbing from the surface. Bardole, utilizing this prior knowledge and experience of working with an M-Vac, applied the concept to a shell casing which was the only evidence available in an unsolved case involving a random road-rage shooting incident. The quantified extract yielded 0.847ng of DNA and resulted in a full profile which matched the reference sample from a suspect leading to a rightful conviction. In collaboration with M-Vac Systems, the "Bardole DNA Collection Method" was developed and is now a subject of scientific validation research.
The Bardole method is relatively simple, expeditious, and does not cause leaching of metallic ions, which causes DNA damage or erodes ballistically vital rifling as in the soaking method. Furthermore, it increases DNA yield to the extent not possible with standard swabbing due to its ability to recover shed cells from small irregularities on the metal surface.