Raw wheat germ - 1
gram or 1 teaspoon.
Wheat germ can be purchased at a health food store or some large supermarkets;
toasted wheat germ does not work.
Liquid detergent - 1
ml or a scant 1/4 teaspoon
The following liquid soap products have been tested and found to work well for
this DNA extraction protocol: Lemon Fresh Joy, Woolite, Ivory, Shaper, Arm
& Hammer, Herbal Essence shower gel by Clairol, Tide, Dish Drops, Kool
Wash, Cheer, Sunlight Dish Soap, Dawn, Delicate, All, and Ultra Dawn.
The
following liquid products do not work well: Life Tree, Shout, Shaklee, Sunlight
Dishwasher, and LOC. Powdered detergents also do not produce good results with
this protocol.
Alcohol - 14 ml or 1
tablespoon
70% isopropyl alcohol ("Rubbing alcohol") is the least
expensive since it can be purchased at a grocery store or pharmacy. However, it
contains a higher percentage of water, making it slightly more difficult to
precipitate the DNA.
95%
ethyl alcohol and Everclear grain alcohol (which is 95% alcohol) both work equally well. The DNA is easy to
collect.
50-60° Celsius tap water
- 20 ml or 1 tablespoon
Do not use water hotter than 50-60° C. The water will cool during the
extraction procedure, but this does not matter. Test your tap water -- it may
be hot enough right from the tap.
50 ml test tube
Capped test tube, beaker or spice jar.
Graduated cylinder
Measuring spoons, or other measuring devices.
Wooden applicator stick
Glass stirring rod/hook, paper clip hook, or shish kebob skewer for stirring
and collecting the mixture.
Eyedropper
Pasteur pipette and bulb, or pieces of paper towel - may be needed to remove
foam
Sealable container (optional)
Such as a tube, vial or jar to store DNA.
50% alcohol (optional)
- for storing DNA.
You can use either isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) or ethyl alcohol for
storing the DNA you extract. To make 100 ml of 50% alcohol with isopropyl
alcohol, mix 71 ml of 70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) with 29 ml of
distilled water. Using ethyl alcohol or Everclear grain alcohol, mix 53 ml of
95% ethyl alcohol (ethanol) with 47 ml of distilled water.
Paper towels
or filter paper - for drying DNA