QIAGEN launches new automated sexual assault sample processing kit
New EZ2 DNA Investigator Sep&Prep Kit automates sexual assault sample processing, improving sperm DNA recovery and separation from victim DNA
3 Nov 2025
EZ2 DNA Investigator Sep&Prep Kit
QIAGEN N.V. has announced it will launch its EZ2 DNA Investigator Sep&Prep Kit, a fully automated solution for processing sexual assault samples, at the International Symposium on Human Identification 2025 (ISHI) from November 3–6 in Palm Beach, Florida.
Developed specifically for forensic laboratories, the EZ2 DNA Investigator Sep&Prep kit enhances the separation of sperm from non-sperm fractions and the preparation of sperm-derived DNA for direct downstream use in forensic DNA profiling or next-generation sequencing.
The workflow is designed for processing on EZ2 Connect Fx, a key system for forensics labs worldwide that can process up to 24 samples in parallel. The new kit delivers DNA ready for analysis in under 2.5 hours, significantly reducing the hands-on time and variability typically seen with current manual methods.
Forensic scientists often work with sexual assault evidence samples that often contain low amounts of sperm DNA and high levels of DNA from the victim, making it difficult to obtain clear profiles. This challenge led Dominic O’Neil, Director of HID and Microbiome Product Development at QIAGEN, and his team to develop a new approach aimed at improving sperm recovery while minimizing contamination from non-sperm DNA.
The new EZ2 kit introduces a novel lysis buffer that efficiently releases sperm cells from cotton and flocked swabs. This is combined with proprietary bead technology that binds and protects the sperm during a thorough wash process to remove non-sperm DNA. The result is a high yield of sperm-derived DNA with minimal victim carryover.
The workflow also reduces manual handling and produces sperm fractions that are ready for direct downstream use with standard DNA profiling or next-generation sequencing kits without the need for additional purification.
“This kit may be one of the most important advances in sex assault sample processing since differential extraction was introduced some 40 years ago,” said Keith Elliott, Senior Director of Strategic Marketing Human Identification at QIAGEN. “For decades, labs have relied on a complex manual process that often limits DNA quality. Our new kit delivers a standardized and efficient approach that could help transform this critical area of forensic work.”