DNA databases have been successfully used to assist investigators in crimes where biological material has been left by a perpetrator. In Canada, the DNA IQ System was examined as an alternative to the current extraction procedure that uses phenol-chloroform and microconcentration by filtration. The DNA IQ System utilizes a proprietary lysis buffer and silica-coated magnetic beads to isolate purified DNA. To meet the demands of high volume casework, all of the components required for the DNA IQ System can be incorporated into a liquid handling platform, allowing for complete automation of this procedure. In this article, a modified DNA IQ System (Promega) protocol was evaluated and validated for the rapid processing of a range of samples, including cigarette butts, gum, dried nasal secretions on tissue, swabbed drink containers, and blood samples. The modified protocol was developed replacing the initial incubation in lysis buffer with an extraction buffer containing proteinase K. With the exception of cigarette butts and gum, which may require further processing steps prior to amplification, the remaining sample types examined yielded good quality, amplifiable DNA using the standard DNA IQ Database Protocol. References