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In this podcast, Katherine Mechling, a technology development scientist in Research Solutions, Molecular Workflows at MilliporeSigma, talks about new DNA and RNA purification kits that can make nucleic acid preparation faster and easier with fewer impurities.
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Tamlyn Oliver: Hi everyone, welcome to Biocompare’s Tech Insights Podcast, where we speak to scientific experts about new technology that can help advance your research. I’m Tamlyn Oliver, Managing Editor of Biocompare. Today’s guest is Katherine Mechling, a Technology Development Scientist in Research Solutions, Molecular Workflows at MilliporeSigma. She’s gonna talk to us about new DNA and RNA purification kits that can make nucleic acid preparation easier, with fewer impurities. Thanks for joining us, Katherine.Katherine Mechling: Thank you Tamlyn, it’s very nice to be here, thank you for having me. Tamlyn Oliver: You’re welcome. I have quite a few questions for you so let’s get started. Katherine Mechling: Excellent, thank you. Tamlyn Oliver: Okay, the first question is, Your GenElute™-E Single Spin DNA and RNA purification kits use negative chromatography to isolate nucleic acids, can you explain how this approach simplifies workflows? Katherine Mechling: So what it does is essentially optimizes the workflow by eliminating the bind and wash and release steps associated with the silica technology, and focuses more on the separation by performing a single step fractionation based on size of the biomolecules within the sample and this also depletes the impurities within the sample itself. Tamlyn Oliver: Often for silica columns, a scientist can elute with a smaller volume to have a more a concentrated sample or elute twice for greater yield. How does this technology differ? Katherine Mechling: So in eluting with a smaller volume with silica, yes, the final sample can definitively have a higher yield but so are the residual salts and ethanol that are needed to bind the sample and wash it, while it’s on that smaller binding surface of the membrane. However, with negative chromatography, the volume that you load is also the volume that you get back which is typically around 80 to 100 microliters, which is usually more concentrated than a typical silica isolated nucleic acid sample. Also, with silica, there’s the common method of using a second elution, however with the second elution, you have the possibility of releasing more of those processed contaminants are well as the smaller fragmented nucleic acid. So, you may be increasing the yield, however you have may not be getting what you actually want of good, full length homologous nucleic acid fragments. So, this can also impact the quantitation going into downstream, and it can give a false sense of a higher yield of the final sample. Tamlyn Oliver: Thanks for that explanation. Next question is, how does GenElute™-E improve the accuracy of nucleic acid quantitation? Katherine Mechling: There are no process contaminants associated with the negative chromatography because we’ve eliminated those bind and wash steps, so there’s no chaotropic salts and no ethanol associated or added to the actual sample. So, this results in more full-length nucleic acids because it also reduces the number of centrifugation steps, plus those process contaminants can also get in the way of accurate quantitation and this can lead to altered downstream applications, because it also limits the robustness of those experiments. Tamlyn Oliver: Everyone’s always looking for ways to save time. Are there any time savings that researchers can enjoy from switching to GenElute™-E for purifying nucleic acids? Katherine Mechling: We do have these great, targeted smart lyase enzymes that are very sample-specific. This helps to reduce the lysis time and also contributes to a more efficient workflow. So, there’s no more overnight lysis steps. Every lysis is under an hour, which is a great time savings for scientists and since there are none of those bind and wash steps, there is significant efficiency improvements to the workflow because the scientist isn’t going between the centrifuge and back again with all of the tedious tube handling steps. Tamlyn Oliver: Thanks for explaining those time saving benefits. Are there other advantages of GenElute™-E that you want to talk about? Katherine Mechling: So actually by eliminating the bind and wash steps, it actually creates a more sustainable workflow. So, you are essentially eliminating a lot of the plastic associated with it, by eliminating the tubes and since the volume that you load is the volume you get back, there is absolutely no chemical waste, liquid waste, associated with the workflow. And this is what makes it so much more beneficial for everybody, scientists and the rest of the world. Tamlyn Oliver: Thanks, Katherine for talking to us about this disruptive technology that promises to yield more robust results. For a more in-depth description of the GenElute™-E Single Spin DNA and RNA Purification Kits that Katherine has spoken about here, please read the related article “GenElute™-E Single Spin Kits for Easier Nucleic Acid Preparation with Fewer Impurities.” And thanks so much for listening. For more information on products, technologies, and the latest scientific advancements, please visit Biocompare.com and have a great day.