Automation of Spin Columns for Nucleic Acid Isolation on VERSA 1100 NAP-PCR Setup Workstation

Nucleic acid isolation is an important upstream step for applications in plant and animal genomics like genotyping, screening for genomic disorders, and diagnostics. Numerous commercial kits for nucleic acid extraction from samples are available in the market; however, the choice of method varies according to the nature of both the sample source and the assay. One common method for nucleic acid extraction and purification is using solid phase DNA extraction, whereby DNA is isolated and subsequently eluted from spin columns by selective solvent additions and centrifugal force. 

Aurora Biomed Inc. (Vancouver, Canada) has validated spin column-based nucleic acid extraction on the VERSA 1100 NAP/PCR Liquid Handling Workstation by employing negative (vacuum) pressure as an alternative to centrifugation. Using the QIAamp® Blood Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany), DNA was isolated from a 200 μl mouthwash sample using both automated and manual method. The automated and manual methods resulted in mean yields of 1.92 µg and 1.88 µg, respectively. The automated protocol produced isolated DNA with A_260/280 readings between 1.78 to 2.06 and a single band running close to 50kb in the 0.7% agarose gel. These results indicated high quality DNA as essential for downstream applications. The yield and the inter-sample CV of 4.9% and 4.7% for automated and manual processes, respectively, suggest that the samples were handled with uniformity during automation. This data supports the use of negative pressure as an alternative to centrifugation for DNA purification using spin columns for automated DNA extraction.