Isolating cells from non-sperm cellular mixtures using the PALM microlaser micro dissection system

Use of the Positioning Ablation Laser MicroBeam (PALM) microlaser system to isolate specific cellular components from somatic cellular mixtures (blood and saliva) prior to DNA extraction and typing is compared with routine DNA extraction and typing of the same mixture samples. Mixtures of blood and saliva at differing ratios generated complex DNA profiles that included allele peaks originating from each of the donors, or just those of the major contributor. Isolation of cells with the PALM microlaser prior to DNA extraction allowed informative, single-source, DNA profiles to be generated from a known cell type/origin.