Extraction of human genomic DNA from whole blood using a magnetic microsphere method

Abstract

Rui Gong,1 Shengying Li2 1Pharmaceutical Department, The Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, 2Clinical Laboratory, Tianjin Children's Hospital, Tianjin, People's Republic of China Abstract: With the rapid development of molecular biology and the life sciences, magnetic extraction is a simple, automatic, and highly efficient method for separating biological molecules, performing immunoassays, and other applications. Human blood is an ideal source of human genomic DNA. Extracting genomic DNA by traditional methods is time-consuming, and phenol and chloroform are toxic reagents that endanger health. Therefore, it is necessary to find a more convenient and efficient method for obtaining human genomic DNA. In this study, we developed urea–formaldehyde resin magnetic microspheres and magnetic silica microspheres for extraction of human genomic DNA. First, a magnetic microsphere suspension was prepared and used to extract genomic DNA from fresh whole blood, frozen blood, dried blood, and trace blood. Second, DNA content and purity were measured by agarose electrophoresis and ultraviolet spectrophotometry. The human genomic DNA extracted from whole blood was then subjected to polymerase chain reaction analysis to further confirm its quality. The results of this study lay a good foundation for future research and development of a high-throughput and rapid extraction method for extracting genomic DNA from various types of blood samples. Keywords: magnetic separation, bioseparation, resin magnetic microspheres, human genomic DNA, extraction