Recovery of DNA for forensic analysis from lip cosmetics

To obtain a reference DNA profile from a missing person, we analyzed a vari ety of personal effects, including two lip cosmetics, both of which gave fu ll DNA profiles. Further investigations were undertaken to explore this pre viously unreported source of DNA. We have tested a range of brands and type s of lip cosmetics. Our studies have revealed that lip cosmetics are an exc ellent source of DNA, with almost 80% of samples giving a result. However, artifacts are frequently observed in the DNA profiles when Chelex is used f or the DNA extraction and additional DNA purification procedures are requir ed to ensure that an accurate DNA profile is obtained.