Bioneer is a relatively new company in the DNA and protein isolation market. There Accuprep series offers plasmid and various other DNA prep kits. The Accuprep Genomic DNA Extraction Kit is for isolation from tail and tissue as well as blood and cell samples. I was initially turned off by the kit’s first step, which requires tissue homogenization. I’m used to being able to just add buffer and proteinase K and let it do its thing at 55°C. However, I tried that with this kit and it didn’t digest the sample very well at all. Thus, an initial homogenization step to break apart the tissue is required, which is really not that hard - but still an extra step. The kit recommends using a mortal and pestle; however, I used a homogenizer.
After that initial step, the kit is very similar to any basic column purification kit, although the two steps that follow tissue digestion are a bit different. After homogenization, a tissue lysis buffer is added along with proteinase K. This is then incubated at 60ºC for 1 hr or more. The new steps involve subsequent addition of binding buffer with an added 10 minute heat step followed by the addition of isopropanol. The sample is then loaded onto a spin-column that binds the DNA; the bound DNA is then washed with ethanol-containing buffers to ensure high-purity DNA before elution with low salt extraction buffer. This gives pure DNA that is ready for any subsequent downstream reaction.
The protocol is pretty basic and easy to follow and I had no problem with the kit or using the buffers or any part of the protocol. If you read carefully, it does say to heat the elution buffer to 60°C before use but I forgot about that until the end and didn’t want to wait – and everything turned out just fine. I used the DNA for in PCR-based applications, which usually is a good indicator of DNA quality and purity. The PCR reactions that I set up worked well and the DNA achieved the results that I expected.
This kit is a good DNA extraction kit that is easy to use and generates pure DNA. It is less expensive than other brands. If you’re willing to put in the extra effort initially to homogenize your sample, then this is a great buy.