Rapid extraction of DNA from archival clinical specimens: our experiences

The analysis of DNA extracted from archival clinical specimens using polyme rase chain reaction represents the basis of a variety of research and diagn ostic protocols in medicine. However, the selection of optimal DNA extracti on method is critical if such an analysis is to be successful. Recently, we have evaluated a number of rapid DNA extraction protocols in order to find the most suitable method for routine processing of the most common archiva l materials in pathological and cytological laboratories: paraffin-embedded tissues and Papanicolaou- or Giemsa-stained smears, Our results demonstrat e that rapid DNA extraction methods have comparable DNA extraction efficien cies with standard DNA isolation protocols on archival clinical specimens w ith the exception of Giemsa-stained smears.