Forward-scatter and side-scatter dataset for epithelial cells from touch samples analyzed by flow cytometry

Abstract

‘Touch’ or trace biological samples submitted to caseworking labs as evidence often contain biological material from multiple individuals which can result in mixed DNA profiles. These mixture profiles are difficult to interpret and may cause analytical bottlenecks for forensic laboratories. The data in this brief reports the variation in the relative abundance of intact epithelial cells deposited by four different donors across nine days. Touch samples were generated each day by rubbing a polypropylene tube with both hands for five minutes. Forward-scatter area (FSC-A) and side-scatter area (SSC-A) data was acquired with the BD FACSCanto™ II Analyzer. The relative abundance of different sub-populations within the FSC-A and SSC-A plots was calculated against the total number of events analyzed in each sample. Mean and standard deviation values were calculated for each donor. Keywords: Flow cytometry, Forensic science, Epithelial cells, Touch DNA