DNA Extraction Lab Conclusion

In this lab, we asked the question, "How can DNA be separated from cheek cells in order to study it?" We found that DNA could be separated from the cheek cells by alcohol through a simple procedure. First of all, we have to scrape the sides of our cheek with our cheeks. Then we had to put a little but of gatorade in our mouth and then we swished the fluid for 30 seconds. Then we spit it back into the cup. After that, we had to add 10 drops of pineapple juice, which served as the enzyme for the experiment, 10 drops of dish soap and lastly a little bit of salt. Then we put the liquid in a test tube and inverted it 6 times. After that, we added some cold rubbing alcohol, which made the DNA visible. The reason that the DNA became visible was because of a few key steps. One key step was the salt that was added. This facilitated the precipitation of the DNA with caused the DNA to become a solid. Also, the soap water helped lyse the cell membranes. The pineapple juice helped break down the histones of the DNA. Lastly, the alcohol, which is non polar, and the DNA, which is polar, were put together so that the DNA would come out of the solution and become visible. This evidence does support our claim because the procedure showed that the DNA separated.

One error that could have occurred was during the part when you added the alcohol. The alcohol could have mixed with the solution if you were not careful when putting the alcohol in. This could have effected the final result because then the DNA would not become visible. Another error that could have occurred was the amount of pineapple juice that was put into the gatorade. This could have made an effect because if there was too little enzyme that was put in, then the DNA would not precipitate enough to become fully visible and separated. This would also change the end result because then the DNA would not be fully visible. Some recommendations that I have for this lab in the future is that there should be more precise measurements because 10 drops is not very specific. Another recommendation is that there should be an easier way to make sure that the alcohol and the DNA do not mix rather than just tilting the test tube and pouring in the alcohol.

The purpose of this lab was done to figure out if DNA was indeed able to be separated from cheek cells. This lab relates to enzymes and how they work to separate DNA. Based on my experience from this lab, I could apply the knowledge that I learnt and apply it to separating DNA not only from our mouth but from different parts of our body.