I'm trying to develop crude methods of DNA extraction from whole blood and dried blood spots that don't require kits, many reagents, or centrifugation. The protocols I have found use heating in their methods and I am just wondering exactly what role this plays. Is heating an alternative method of DNA precipitation? Or does is play some other role in the extraction process?
Thanks for your responses.
Dear Leanna
Heating helps to denature proteins, extract DNA from spots, increase speed of chemical reactions, inactivate enzymatical reactions inhibitors etc. Heating is not an alternative method of DNA precipitation.
The answer depends on the protocol. Many commercially available kits developed for extraction of blood and tissue samples use Pro K. Proteinase K, as the name indicates is an enzyme that digests proteins. Like many enzymes, they function at optimal temperatures. This is important because optimal digestion of proteins is necessary to obtain pure DNA yields.
@ Qian Guo Can I use digital oven instead of heat block in DNA extraction?
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