OTM DNA isolation in the field

Fluctus Industrial Engineering and Sylphium Molecular Ecology have jointly completed a “VIA 2021” development project. Techniques have been developed to purify DNA quickly, easily and outside the laboratory.
This way of DNA purification offers the possibility to quickly isolate DNA on location and to perform DNA analyses. Rapid and on-site DNA analyzes are particularly relevant for products and environments where pathogens can occur and which people use, such as food and bathing water. In swimming water and recreational lakes, pathogenic bacteria such as E.coli, Enterococcen and Leptospirose (causing Weil's disease). In addition, this water almost always contains humic acids, tannins and tannic acids. This group of substances disrupts DNA analyzes such as PCR very seriously and behaves in a chemical sense almost in the same way as DNA. This makes purification of DNA from water containing humic acids, tannins and/or tannic acids very difficult.
The project partners have succeeded in applying a “new” matrix material and the right buffers, which bind contaminants such as humic acids extremely efficiently and selectively, while DNA is hardly bound and passes along the matrix. It has also been possible to achieve this with very low concentrations of DNA, as can be used for eDNA analyses.
A special column was developed for the project that contains the matrix material and is fitted with a Luer-lock connection at the inlet and outlet of the column. This makes it possible to spray DNA extracts over the column with small syringes in the field and to get the DNA purified for DNA analyses.