New approaches to the isolation of DNA by ion-exchange chromatography

The performance of different anion-exchange media have been compared for th e isolation of plasmid DNA and genomic DNA from bacterial cells and human w hole blood. Whatman DEAE-Magarose, based on an agarose bead containing a pa ramagnetic component, has been compared with prepacked gravity-flow columns containing a derivatised silica matrix. In each case the DNA isolation at various scales of operation was similar both in terms of yield and quality. The magnetic susceptibility of DEAE-Magarose is very high, facilitating th e use of this separation technique for rapid flexible batch chromatographic processes, a limitation of the prepacked column techniques, (C) 1998 Elsev ier Science B.V. All rights reserved.