| abstract |
The disclosure provides methods and devices for separating and detecting nucleic acid fragments labeled with a plurality of spectrally resolvable dyes using a single light source or multiple light sources. Use of a greater number of light sources increases the number of spectrally resolvable dyes that can be interrogated. Labeling fragments with a greater number of spectrally resolvable dyes permits more overlapping of fragments with differentiation of the fragments, and thus separation can be conducted on a smaller range of fragment sizes/lengths. To improve the detection sensitivity of a detection system employing multiple light sources, light emitted by the light sources can be spatially separated from one another and/or the intensity of each of the light sources can be modulated. Each of the one or more light sources can be, e.g., a laser or a light-emitting diode. The methods and devices of the disclosure are useful for performing genetic analysis, e.g., analysis of a plurality of STR markers utilized in a forensic database (e.g., CODIS) to identify humans. |