A SIMPLIFIED METHOD TO PURIFY PHARMACEUTICAL GRADE WAX FOR USE IN THEPOLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION (PCR)

Pharmaceutical grade paraffin was purified by heating, solubilisation in chloroform, extraction thrice with water, precipitation in absolute ethanol, filtering and vacuum drying. Ii was tested in hot start PCR reactions and in stringent conditions for primer allele specific ampli fication (PASA). In these two types of PCR reactions the purified para ffin gave the same results as the commercial product Ampliwax(TM) PCR Gems. This simple method of purifying paraffin provides a reliable and inexpensive alternative to commercial products for hot start PCR.