Organ and muscular tissue are among the most frequently studied sample types within the scientific community. An essential aspect for downstream molecular analysis of this sample type is the ability to lyse cells in these tissues and expose the genetic material of interest. Lysis can be achieved in a variety of ways. However, one of the most effective and efficient methods is using mechanical disruption via numerous methods, including mortar and pestle, vortexing, and bead-based homogenization on an instrument such as the Bead Ruptor EliteTM Bead Mill Homogenizer.
Complete homogenization of the tissue sample is critical due to the sample-to-sample variability, which can be introduced from incomplete lysis of tissues. Ensuring complete lysis can prove quite difficult, especially with manual methods such as mortar and pestle. This not only can introduce variability to sample quality, potentially effecting viability of downstream data, but these methods are also much more time consuming as opposed to bead mill-based homogenization. The unique carriage motion of the Bead Ruptor EliteTM homogenizer allows it to disrupt even the toughest of samples generating a highly workable product in a much more efficient manner. Combined with the wide variety of tube sizes and bead media provided by OMNI, the end user can be confident in the integrity of lysis they are achieving.
Equally important to sample preparation, however, is the method of extracting genetic material of interest from the lysed sample. DNA extraction is one of the most common use cases in tissue sample studies and can be applied to numerous downstream processes such as next generation sequencing or gene detection. Nucleic acid extraction can be accomplished in a variety of ways involving manual techniques and spin-column based kits. While these methods are certainly effective and commonplace in many labs, they do come with a variety of downsides such as the time required to process multiple samples manually, and consistently.
Consistency is of the upmost importance to ensure valid and repeatable results. One of the best ways to improve consistency in sample extraction is the use of automation to remove the element of human error from technician to technician. chemagen provides an automated nucleic acid extractor in the form of the chemagic 360 instrument. Utilizing its patented magnetic bead technology, the chemagic 360 instrument allows the user to extract an entire 96 well plate of samples with far greater speed and consistency than could be achieved by hand.
OMNI scientists showed how combining this automated extraction process with bead mill homogenization can result in a high yield of DNA and a consistent product. To demonstrate this, over 3 days hundreds of bovine liver samples were homogenized, subjected to DNA extractions, and quantified. These results were then statistically compared between days to determine if there would be detectable differences between extraction series preformed using the Bead Ruptor EliteTM homogenizer combined with the chemagic 360 instrument. As a result of inter-day statistical analysis, there were no significant differences found in nucleic acid concentrations between each day’s run, meaning researchers utilizing these tools can rely on the repeatability of any data obtained.
This DNA extraction workflow features the Bead Ruptor EliteTM homogenizer, allowing for complete processing of the tissue sample, while the chemagicTM 360 instrument allows for a consistent extraction in far less time compared to manual methods. By applying this workflow, the user can be confident that their samples will be processed efficiently , producing downstream results that can be relied upon. Reach out to our team today with any questions on how these instruments can be incorporated into your workflow to add consistency to your sample preparation.
A more detailed overview of the study can be found in the app note linked below.
A Robust and High Yield DNA Extraction Protocol from Bovine Liver Utilizing the OMNI Bead Ruptor EliteTM Bead Mill Homogenizer in Combination with Automated Extraction on the chemagic™ 360 Nucleic Acid Extractor
