Mouthwash is an effective vehicle for collecting genomic DNA, say researchers at the University of Florida.
Researchers studied two sets of patients to determine the quantity, quality and long-term stability of genomic DNA samples collected in buccal cells by an established mouthwash method.
Six volunteers vigorously swished with 10 milliliters of a commercial mouthwash for 60 seconds and spit the solution into a sterile collection tube. They repeated the process four times throughout a 24-hour period. A portion of the solution was stored at room temperature and tested several times—at 30-, 60- and 90-day intervals—after it was collected. Researchers used a similar protocol to collect samples from 201 participants in a high-blood-pressure study, who repeated the collection process twice.
Researchers found that the quantity of genomic DNA stored at room temperature decreased over time. The largest declines occurred at 60 and 90 days.
They also found that samples obtained using the mouthwash method contained more usable human DNA (about 50 percent) than samples obtained from the traditional swab method (10 percent). "The swab only gets a relatively small amount of DNA, enough for a few experiments," said Julie Johnson, Pharm.D., director of the University of Florida’s Center for Pharmacogenomics. "With the mouthwash, we can extract enough DNA for up to 5,000 experiments."
