09/12/2019
Is that really DNA in your tube? Comparative analysis of UV-absorbing leachables in micro test tubes
Rafal Grzeskowiak, Diana Hübler, Eppendorf SE
Bioactive contaminants leaching out of laboratory consumables (leachables) may significantly affect experiments and may pose a likely source of error in many assay systems. Recent scientific evidence provides numerous examples of biological assays, which have been shown to be affected by leachables, including routine applications such as spectrophotometric measurements of nucleic acids.
This study provides a comparative analysis of UV-absorbing leachables and resulting false DNA readings upon incubation of water samples in 1.5 mL micro test tubes from several manufacturers. A majority of tubes tested showed high to very high false DNA concentrations, as opposed to tubes from Eppendorf.
Increasing scientific evidence shows that chemical substances leaching out of plastic consumables (leachables) may significantly affect experiments and pose a likely source of error in many assay systems. These include not only various enzymatic, receptor binding, cell culture, and high-end analytical assays, but also common laboratory procedures such as spectrophotometric measurements of nucleic acids.