DNA Extraction of Fruits

Materials
- Fruit
- Half a cup of water (120 ml)
- Half a teaspoon of salt (2.5 ml)
- Two teaspoons of dish soap/detergent (10 ml)
- Ziplock bag
- Rubbing alcohol (preferably cold) (70% and up) (isopropyl alcohol)
- Coffee filter/filter paper
- Containers

Steps
- Chop the fruit and put it in the ziplock bag. Mush it until there is no large chunks of fruit.
- Prepare the extraction buffer: - Half a cup of water, 2 teaspoons of dish soap, and half a teaspoon
of salt.
The soap breaks down the cell and nuclear membrane, so the DNA is free. The salt helps separate
the DNA from other materials in the cell and remove the DNA from the proteins it is attached to.
- Pour this solution on the ziplock bag. Mix the fruit and solution together for around 30 to 45
seconds until it is finely mixed.
- Filter the solution using a filter paper and let all the liquid drip down into the container. This is to
separate the lumps and large cell materials from the solution.
- Slowly pour the alcohol on the solution until there is a layer that is about equal to the solution/5
cm thick.
- Let this sit for some time. There will be some cloudy/cottony substance with bubbles in it in the
alcohol layer. This is the DNA clumping up, as DNA is not soluble in isopropyl alcohol.
- You can stick a stirrer into the container to collect the stringy substance around the stirrer.

Uses
- Examination of cells for any genetic disorder in infants or adults.
- Identifying remains of the dead.
- Analyze forensic evidence from crime scenes and suspects.