BPG is committed to discovery and dissemination of knowledge
Articles in Press
5/9/2026 6:15:48 AM | Browse: 3 | Download: 0
Publication Name World Journal of Biological Chemistry
Manuscript ID 121467
Country Greece
Category Medicine, Legal
Manuscript Type Opinion Review
Article Title Single-cell deoxyribonucleic acid typing for forensic mixtures and trace evidence: Opportunities, validation requirements, and reporting limits
Manuscript Source Invited Manuscript
All Author List Kyriacos Evangelou, Paraskevi Angeli, Andreas Polydorou and Thalia Petropoulou
Funding Agency and Grant Number
Corresponding Author Kyriacos Evangelou, MD, Department of Minimally Invasive Colon and Rectal Surgery, The Euroclinic Hospital of Athens, 7-9 Athanasiadou & D. Soutsou Street, Athens 11521, Greece. evangeloukyriacos@gmail.com
Key Words Forensic genetics; Single-cell genomics; Deoxyribonucleic acid mixtures; Laser capture microdissection; Digital cell sorting; Whole-genome amplification; Short tandem repeats; Activity-level propositions; Deoxyribonucleic acid transfer
Core Tip Single-cell forensic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) typing has moved beyond speculation, but present evidence supports targeted use only in validated niches. Its forensic value lies in reducing mixture complexity before computation, preserving cell-of-origin information, and rescuing contributor profiles that bulk analysis may not resolve. Its forensic risk lies in selective cell capture, single-template stochasticity, contamination at near-single-copy sensitivity, and the temptation to over-read cellular context as activity-level proof. The appropriate translational question is therefore not whether single-cell short tandem repeat typing works in principle, but which minimum validation thresholds and reporting limits are necessary before it enters accredited casework.
Citation Evangelou K, Angeli P, Polydorou A, Petropoulou T. Single-cell deoxyribonucleic acid typing for forensic mixtures and trace evidence: Opportunities, validation requirements, and reporting limits. World J Biol Chem 2026; In press
Received
2026-03-26 03:41
Peer-Review Started
2026-03-26 03:41
First Decision by Editorial Office Director
2026-04-10 08:58
Return for Revision
2026-04-10 08:58
Revised
2026-04-24 08:23
Publication Fee Transferred
Second Decision by Editor
2026-05-09 02:37
Second Decision by Editor-in-Chief
Final Decision by Editorial Office Director
2026-05-09 06:15
Articles in Press
2026-05-09 06:15
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript
ISSN 1949-8454 (online)
Open Access This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Copyright ©Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. No commercial re-use. See Permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
Permissions For details, please visit: http://www.wjgnet.com/bpg/gerinfo/207
Publisher Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
Website http://www.wjgnet.com