| Date: July 6, 1998 |  Genomic DNA Isolation Kits |
The first isolation of DNA is generally credited to Friedrich Miescher, who in the late 1860s was studying proteins, which were discovered a mere three decades earlier. Proteins and DNA--what's the relationship? While attempting to investigate the characteristics of protein in pus cells, Miescher noticed that weakly alkaline cellular extracts, when neutralized, yielded a precipitate; however, the precipitate did not exhibit any of the then known properties of proteins, limited, though they were. Through further investigation, he demonstrated that the precipitable material originated from nuclei and was present in every cell type he examined. Although he published his findings in 1869, he made very little inroads into further purifying this novel substance, which he termed nuclein. Miescher noted that "[the] complete extraction of cells with hydrochloric acid is very difficult. Several weeks go by until everything goes into solution. The liquids do not ...
