The Advantage of Cold Plasma in High Throughput Plant Genomics

High throughput genomic protocols have revolutionized plant strain development.  However, the sensitivity of genomic assay systems and the complexity of plant extracts have imposed the use of costly single use plastic tips for sample transfer.  We at IonField Systems have developed a process utilizing an initial solvent wash in a sonicating waterbath followed by the TipCharger plasma treatment system that efficiently removes residual plant matter and DNA from the plastic tips, allowing confident reuse of the tips.  Our process removes DNA to undetectable levels, and allows most tips to be reused at least 10 times.  This process provides a money-saving alternative to single use lab ware, without decreasing the system speed needed for high throughput plant genomic analysis.