By SCOTT TRAVIS - Sun Sentinel

FORT LAUDERDALE -- A South Florida researcher believes he may be able to speed up the time it takes to nab sexual predators.

Bruce R. McCord, a professor of analytical and forensic chemistry at Florida International University, has received a $349,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to develop a new way to analyze DNA evidence.

Samples used in rape kits generally contain both sperm and vaginal fluids, and the two must be purified and separated before a crime lab can identify the male DNA, McCord said. The process can take a day or more, he said.

McCord’s method would allow crime lab technicians to identify the sperm without separating it from the female DNA, potentially cutting the process time in half. McCord is working with a Massachusetts company, Pressure Biosciences Inc., which owns the patent on the extraction method.

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