Disease-causing viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, hepatitis virus, and influenza virus pose serious threats to public health. To combat viral outbreaks, early detection of a virus’s presence in a population is critical for virologists. Analyzing nucleic acids from biological or environmental samples is a preferred virus surveillance method because researchers can precisely characterize different strains and track their evolution in real time. Obtaining pure viral DNA or RNA from samples ensures accurate results in downstream analyses such as PCR, sequencing, and cloning.
A typical nucleic acid purification workflow involves four steps: effective cell disruption, nucleoprotein complex denaturation, nuclease inactivation, and contaminant removal. Although the protocol is straightforward, there is room for error at each step, which can reduce the final product’s quality and quantity. Commercial nucleic acid extraction kits that use solution-based or column-based protocols reduce the number of workflow steps, allowing researchers to isolate viral DNA or RNA from biological ...
