PCR without plastic consumables? Save money, save the environment...any experience?

[Chris]

I have been reading Eva Harris' book "A Low-Cost Approach to PCR:
Appropriate Transfer of Biomolecular Techniques".

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0195119266/ref=pe_175190_21431760_cs_sce_dp_1

The book explains how she has setup clinics / labs and used PCR to
help physicians, epidemiologists, public health workers, and health
policy professionals in developing nations monitor disease. Its been
great read and quite informative on how to do PCR on a budget. She
explains processes for reuse and cleaning of plastic and glass
consumables. I was curious if anyone in the group here has experience
reusing plastic and glassware that typically are thought of as
consumables? Is it worth it? How much time does it take? Any tips
or tricks? She goes as far as cleaning out pipette tips for reuse and
claims success.

[Stacy]

Hi Chris,
I personally wouldn't suggest reusing tubes or tips when doing PCR.
One amplifiable molecule would be enough to screw up your results.
I'm all in favor of reusing pretty much everything else (petri plates,
culture tubes, etc), just not PCR stuff.
Cheers,
Stacy

[Tristan Eversole]

You know, I have that book, but I haven't gotten around to reading it. I'd like to try reusing materials; if I get to it, I'll let you know how it goes.

--T.

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[Pat]

We reuse our rubber 96 well plate lids. They wash with soapy water,
rinsed then sprayed with ethanol and then autoclaved before reuse.

On Jan 18, 8:22 pm, Tristan Eversole <customerserv...@trioptimum.com>
wrote:

[Cathal Garvey]

You can eliminate residual DNA from spin columns with 1M HCl overnight,
so I don't see why the same wouldn't work for tips, tubes and plates?

"A Low-Cost Approach to PCR" looks great, I only wish the book were as
low-cost as the enclosed approach!

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[Chris]

Cathal,

I would be happy to loan you the book for a few weeks. Let me know
where I can send it.

Chris

[Cathal Garvey]

That's awesome of you to offer, but it's fine really! I'm pretty sure
we're already on top of most of the major techniques discussed, having
constructed (between us) some 5 different models of low-cost PCR machine. :)

Not to mention the cultures I have in the lab for making taq and pfu..
;) #worksinprogress

Besides, when I'm 80 years old and finally finished 1Q84, I'll buy her
book and give it a whirl. If I borrowed it, I'm sure I'd end up
destroying it by accident somehow..

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