Nucleic Acid Purification Accessory Reagents

Purification of nucleic acids is a multi-step process, beginning from cellular lysis to the collection of the final DNA or RNA product. In these workflows, various stand-alone accessory reagents may be used to enhance the amount yield or purity of the final product. Among these include specialized cell lysis kits, buffers and enzymes (like lysozyme) which can ensure the effective release of nucleic acid from cellular compartments. For removing contaminants, endotoxin removal reagents can be useful for samples susceptible to bacterial lipopolysaccharide contamination, such as in plasmid DNA preps. Nucleases such as DNases and RNases are useful for eliminating any unwanted residual nucleic acids from RNA or DNA preps. In certain extraction procedures such as ethanol precipitation, the optional addition of glycogen can enhance the formation of the final pellet.