Journal of Chromatography A, 1335 (2014) 104

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Journal of Chromatography A
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/chroma

Editorial

Editorial on “Purification of nucleic acids using isotachophoresis”, by Anita

Rogacs, Lewis A. Marshall and Juan G. Santiago

The field of purification of nucleic acids underpins a vast amount
of related research which is dependent on the availability of pure
samples on which reliable experiments can be performed. Indeed,
Rogacs, Marshall and Santiago make the following comment in their
attached Editors’ Choice article: “Despite major advances in the
state of the art for DNA and RNA analysis, all such analyses remain
contingent on the availability and quality of pure nucleic acid sam-
ples. Robust, efficient and automated sample preparation remains
a major ‘grand challenge’ in science and represents a bottleneck
in complete automation of nucleic acid analysis. Full laboratory
automation requires the development of sample preparation meth-
ods which reduce matrix effects of untreated samples and achieve
the reproducibility and yield required by downstream nucleic acid
analysis”.
The authors have focused on the use of isotachophoresis (ITP)
for the task of purification of nucleic acids. They have justified this
focus on the basis that ITP is a simple technique which does not
require complex surface chemistries, uses compact and automated
instrumentation, and is compatible with a wide range of samples. In
this article, the authors have provided a comprehensive review of
the use of ITP for purification of nucleic acids, including an overview
of the technique itself, chemistries suitable for the purification of
nucleic acids, lysing techniques compatible with ITP, and a litera-
ture review of published methods for processing of DNA and RNA.
Professor Juan G. Santiago and his colleagues from Stanford
University have conducted some outstanding research into ITP of
nucleic acids, as well as a range of related areas. Despite being a
young researcher, Professor Santiago has established a truly excel-
lent publication and citation record and his work is very widely
recognised throughout the world. I was therefore delighted that he
agreed to accept my invitation to prepare a review. I have no doubt
that this review will be of great value to experts and novices alike
and will trigger even further interest in this highly exciting field.
Hobart, Australia Paul R. Haddad
E-mail address: paul.haddad@utas.edu.au
Available online 4 February 2014

DOI of original article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2013.12.027.

0021-9673/$ – see front matter. Crown Copyright © 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2014.02.001