Precautions to be taken to ensure adequate DNA collection from the fingernail.

Summary of this article

It usually takes about 5 to 10 nails to obtain sufficient DNA from a fingernail. This is because the amount of DNA contained in a fingernail is relatively small, and multiple fingernails are submitted as samples to ensure more DNA.

Reason:

Less DNA in nails: nails are made of hard keratin and contain fewer DNA-containing cells than blood or oral cells. Therefore, multiple nails are needed to extract a sufficient amount of DNA.
Types of DNA: The DNA that can be obtained from nails usually contains “nuclear DNA” (DNA in the cell nucleus), which requires multiple samples for analysis. Sometimes DNA is obtained from skin cells or oils on the nail surface, but multiple nails are still required to ensure sample quality and quantity.

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Exceptions:

In some cases, a single nail may be sufficient to collect a sufficient amount of DNA, but generally 5 to 10 nails are recommended. In particular, older or shaved nails may require more samples, as the DNA may be degraded.

Nails are not recommended because they can scratch others and other people’s nails can be purchased in nail clippers. However, DNA extraction can be performed at HIRO Clinic if there are about three pieces of debris.