Automated Extraction of DNA from Various Food Samples Application Note · InnuPure C16

Introduction

Quality food and its impact on health is becoming more important to costumers. This aspect together with food scandals of the recent past push the food industry to make their products more transparent. One important issue is the origin of raw materials. This point touches topics like the use of materials derived from genetically modified organisms as well as the use of the correct materials indicated on the list of ingredients. An effective method to investigate the origin of materials and genetic background of ingredients in processed food are technologies based on Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), as these methods are very sensitive. In order to use PCR-based technologies for the analysis of food, a certain amount and quality of DNA is required. Some sample materials (e.g. plant samples, processed food) contain significant levels of inhibitors, which inhibit PCR-based downstream applications and therefore interfere with analysis.

In the experiments described below, DNA was extracted from northern shrimp, hazelnut and two different kinds of cheese. DNA was extracted using innuPREP DNA Kit-IPC16 and innuPREP Food DNA Kit-IPC16. Extraction was performed with InnuPure® C16/C16 touch. After homogenization (optional) and lysis, lysed samples were transferred in the Reagent Plastics of the kits. Reagent Plastics of the kits are pre-filled with all required buffers and magnetic particles for DNA extraction.

The Reagent Plastics were loaded in the InnuPure® C16/C16 touch followed by fully automated extraction. Following extraction, DNA quality was analyzed using gel electrophoresis, spectrophotometry and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) for species analysis.

The high pre-processing state of the kits (pre-filled, sealed buffer reservoirs) and automated purification reduces the handson time of the customer to a minimum. Besides the benefit of reduced time consumption, pre-processing also reduces the risk of human errors and loss of valuable samples. Analysis of extracted DNA by agarose gel electrophoresis, spectrophotometry and qRT-PCR analysis shows that DNA extracted with devices and kits from Analytik Jena can be readily used for relevant downstream applications.