Semi-automated transfection-grade plasmid DNA purification on the ASSIST PLUS pipetting robot

Introduction

The use of silica membrane-based DNA purification kits is a convenient way to prepare high quality, transfection-grade plasmid DNA samples for cloning, sequencing and restriction analysis or for more sensitive applications, such as transfection of standard cell lines. In the latter case, transfection efficiency is negatively impacted by endotoxins, and so it is important that levels are low. MACHEREY-NAGEL has developed a novel technology to reduce endotoxin content. Its NucleoSpin® 96 Plasmid Transfection-grade kit is designed for high throughput purification of high-copy plasmid DNA from E. coli in a 96 well plate format. The miniprep protocol is based on alkaline lysis, and is optimized for the purification of plasmid DNA from 1-5 ml of bacterial culture. However, it is a time-consuming step in genetic analyses.