X-Message-Number: 3173
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 1994 20:21:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: 
Subject: SCI.CRYONICS Shrimp Chowder

Date sent:  23-SEP-1994 20:18:23 
>Newsgroups: bionet.molbio.methds-reagnts

>Path: 
biosci!bcm!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!torn!utnut!oci!jimbo.oci.utoronto.ca
>From:  (jimbo)
>Subject: Re: A grinding problem
>Message-ID: <>
>Sender: 
>Reply-To:  (jimbo)
>Organization: Ontario Cancer Institute - U of Toronto
>X-Newsreader: InterCon TCP/Connect II 1.2
>References: <>
>Date: Mon, 16 May 1994 16:54:47 GMT
>Lines: 54
>
>In article <>, 
> (Stacy Ferguson) writes:
>
>> In article <2qlrn5$>  (Joseph 
>> C. Bagshaw) writes: 
>> >This is my second attempt to post this message.  The first did't 
>> >get through, I'm a novice, and the local college computer center 
>> >speaks no known human language.  Sorry for the noise. 
>> > 
>> >I have a problem for which someone out there may have a solution. 
>> >I need to prepare genomic DNA from frozen tissue (shrimp tails, 
>> >to be specific).  The first step is to reduce the tail muscle, 
>> >still frozen, to as fine a powder as possible.  Currently, I wrap the 
>> >tail in two or three layers of foil, place it on a metal block 
>> >on dry ice, and pound it with a hammer.  This reduces the tail to 
>> >small chunks, which I then grind in a mortor and pestle on dry ice 
>> >until my arm aches.  From there on the DNA extraction in a breeze, and 
>> >I get super quality DNA.  This crude but effective pulverizing method 
>> >is OK for a limited number of samples, but the prospect of doing a few 
>> >dozen shrimp this way is pretty daunting.  I'm looking for an 
>> >alternative that would facilitate rigorous grinding of 
>> >multilpe samples.  Any suggestions would be appreciated. 
>> > 
>> >Joe Bagshaw 
>> >Department of Biology and Biotechnology 
>> >Worcester Polytechnic Institute 
>> >Worcester, MA 01609 
>> > 
>> > 
>> >****.
>****************HAVE GENES, WILL TRAVEL******************** 
>> > 
>> > 
>> 
>> First, I'm glad to see you're using a part of the shrimp that most 
>> people don't eat anyway. I'd hate to see good shrimp go to waste :) 
>> 
>> Will a Waring Blendor work? You can usually find them in big scientific 
>> supply catalogues like Fischer, Baxter, etc. You can buy small blender 
>> cups for scientific use. I've made liver powders and things like that 
>> using frozen tissue and dry ice for DNA preps. The only problem with 
>> this is that the cups aren't cheap, so if you plan on doing pcr or 
>> something where minor contamination would be a huge problem, then it 
>> would be prohibitively expensive to buy one cup per prep. The cup I 
>> used held about 50 ml but I know they come in smaller sizes. 
>> 
>> Stacy 
>
>I used to know someone who extracted plant metabolites in a mortar and pestle 
>along with liquid nitrogen.  She said that this made the frozen plant 
>material more brittle than dry ice did.  You could give it a try.
>
>
>
>

Jan (John) Coetzee.

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