METHODS FOR HIGH-SPEED, EFFICIENT PURIFICATION OF NUCLEIC ACIDS FROM DIVERSE CLINICAL AND BIO-HAZARDOUS SAMPLES ON GLASS AND HYBRID PDMS-GLASS MICROCHIPS

摘要

Sol-gel based extractions of DNA have proven efficient and amenable to microchip-based devices. The work reported here investigates the variation of sol-gel and microchip parameters for improvement in extraction efficiency and reduction in process time. Extractions demonstrating the versatility of sol-gel chemistry are presented, including a variety of clinical, bio-hazardous, and forensic samples. Comparisons are reported for microchip extractions and commercial extraction kits, and results of extractions with subsequent PCR amplification for forensic STR (short tandem repeats) analysis are reported. A method of loading and bonding a solid phase extraction bed into a glass-PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) hybrid chip is also presented.