Perhaps I should feel guilty that this protocol requires three Eppendorf tubes for each sample (embryonic tissue samples require two, and less time on the environmental shaker).

Tubes with lysed samples, tubes with isopropanol, and tubes with TE

But hairs are not good for PCR, so they have to be pelleted in the microfuge for removal.

24 samples, 24 spaces in the rotor. What a coinkydink!

Oops, need to clean the rotor and microfuge. Most of that is scale, from condensation and melted ice. But yeah, it looks bad. I carefully removed each supernatant, and added to an equal volume of isopropanol.

Ready to mix it up

In the bad old days, there weren’t accurate micropipetters and tips, and so scientists had to use glass capillary tubes to measure small volumes. You can find sleeves and sleeves of these capillary tubes in old labs that are being cleaned or renovated, and usually you can take them away free for nothing. They are (nearly) perfect for spooling DNA, which will almost always slide off quite nicely into the TE buffer.

Lab scavenging is a fun and thrifty skill, perfect for the recession economy

Give each tube the briefest kiss with the vortexer, and then leave on the bench overnight to go into solution. If you’re in a hurry, put the rack on the environmental shaker at 37C. A freeze-thaw cycle helps too.

When I buy racks for microfuge tubes, I always choose “assorted colors”. A sales rep on the West Coast of the US once told me that the neon colors are popular in Southern California labs, while the more muted colors (like the dark green rack above) are favored in the Pacific Northwest.