Investigator Argus X-12 QS Kit

• Co-amplification of 12 X-chromosomal and one autosomal alignment marker to avoid sample mix-up
• Integrated Quality Sensor for better decision making and data interpretation
• PCR run speed of around 80 minutes for faster results
• Smart primer design with reduced allelic overlap for unambiguous results
• High sensitivity and inhibitor resistance

The Investigator Argus X-12 QS Kit is a multiplex solution for human identification. The 12 X-chromosomal markers, D21S11 and Amelogenin are co-amplified. The autosomal marker, D21S11, enables alignment of the Investigator Argus X-12 QS Kit profile with a profile from any other autosomal STR kit from the expanded CODIS or ESS market, to minimize the risk of sample mix-ups. With its innovative Quality Sensor (QS), the Investigator Argus X-12 QS Kit includes a novel internal performance control. This allows you to readily determine if your PCR run was successful or if there was no DNA present in your sample. The kit utilizes QIAGEN's fast-cycling technology, enabling amplification in just ca. 80 minutes. Highly sensitive, with rapid and reliable results from trace or reference DNA, the Investigator Argus X-12 QS Kit is suitable for paternity or kinship testing and for gonosomal STR analysis of forensic stains. The Investigator Argus X-12 QS Kit meets ISO 18385 requirements.

The Investigator Argus X-12 QS Kit uses QIAGEN's fast-cycling PCR technology for the direct, simultaneous amplification of 12 X-chromosomal markers, D21S11 and Amelogenin. The amplification of the 12 X-chromosomal markers (see Table 1 and 2), with heightened discrimination power, meets the needs for complex kinship and paternity testing and helps fulfill the demands of complicated deficiency cases involving at least one female. The 12 X-chromosomal markers are clustered into four linkage groups (three markers per group; Table 1), and thus each set of three markers is handled as a haplotype for genotyping.

The innovative Quality Sensors provides additional information on the sample quality and PCR success beyond the profile of your sample. With the Quality Sensor (QS) being amplified as an amplification control, it is possible to determine:

• A successful PCR run
• A failed PCR run
• Lack of DNA in your sample

This additional information will help you analyze your data, and guides you with respect to further sample processing. It will also help you reduce unnecessary PCR re-runs, saving you time and money.
The additional autosomal marker D12S11 acts as alignment marker. Now, you have the possibility to align your X-chromosomal profile from the Investigator Argus X-12 QS Kit with a profile of any other autosomal STR kit from the expanded CODIS or ESS market, to minimize the risk of sample mix-ups.

The 12 X-chromosomal markers, D21S11 and the gender-specific Amelogenin, are amplified simultaneously in a single PCR run and labeled with one of the dyes listed in the Table 2: "Investigator Argus X-12 QS Kit dyes and corresponding markers".
The amplified loci then undergo capillary electrophoresis. The results can be analyzed using dedicated software, such as Applied Biosystems GeneMapper ID-X. See the table "Technical specifications" for more information.

• Kinship and paternity testing, especially deficiency cases
• Population genetics and anthropological studies
• Analysis of stains with female traces on a male background