Discussion
When developing a DNA extraction protocol, the main
goals are an easy and fast workflow, high yields and a
sufficient DNA purity. Manual DNA extraction procedures
are time-consuming and often use toxic or harmful substances
like chloroform or phenol, whereas column-based
commercially available kits are expensive and comprise a
complex workflow. Reproducibility and outcome of the
DNA extraction depend to a high extent on the experience
of the staff, the applied DNA extraction procedure and the
sample matrices. In the field of gm crops, the official surveillance
is responsible to detect contaminations of non-gm
seed with traces of gm material and to control the labelling
of products. Non-authorised gm crops may not be contained
in any product entering the EU market. Therefore,
highly reproducible, effective and simple DNA extraction
protocols are needed to cope with the increasing amount of
samples.
Presently, automated DNA extraction using the Maxwell
16 extraction robot has mainly been used with
sample material from human or livestock. In a recent study,
Foley et al. [8] stated advantages of the automated DNA
extraction (Maxwell) compared with manual DNA in
respect of DNA quality and quantity when using milk,