Accurate profiling of forensic autosomal STRs using the Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION device

Forensic STR typing using next-generation sequencing (NGS) has therefore gained attention as an alternative to traditional capillary electrophoresis (CE) approaches. In this proof-of-principle study, we evaluate the forensic applicability of the newest and smallest NGS platform available, the Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) MinION device. Although nanopore sequencing on the handheld MinION offers numerous advantages, including on-site sample processing, the relatively high error rate and lack of forensic-specific analysis software have prevented accurate profiling across STR panels in previous studies.