Basic DNA Extraction
This is an explanation of how to do a DNA extraction using common household items. It will take about an hour to complete the experiment.
Materials
Materials
- 1 Blender
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Glass Vial or Test Tube
- 100 mL of organic material (leafy green vegetables or peas work great)
- 200 mL (or twice the amount of organic material) of cold water
- 30 mL detergent (liquid dish soap works)
- 1 mL table salt
- 1 mL Meat Tenderizer
- 1 wooden mixing stick
- 1 strainer
- 100 mL chilled alcohol, preferably 95% to 100% pure ethyl alcohol
- Add the organic material, water, and salt to the blender and blend for 15 seconds or until chunky.
- Strain contents of blender into bowl, let settle for 10 minutes.
- Pour solution into a test tube or glass vial, filling a third of the vial.
- Mix detergent with contents of the tube and mix gently.
- Let the solution sit for 10 minutes
- Add a small amount of the meat tenderizer to the test tube and mix gently. Be careful, as mixing too vigorously will destroy the strands of DNA.
- Let the mixture sit for five minutes.
- Tilt the vial to one side, and gently pour the alcohol down the side of the tube so that it collects in a layer on top of the solution that is already in the vial.
- Gently pull the wooden stick through the bottom layer of solution. This will draw the DNA up into the layer of alcohol, where it will precipitate and become visible.