Extraction, Quantitation, and Evaluation of Function DNA from Various Sample Types

Two vital pre-requisites for genetic epidemiology have been fullfiled during the past decade and have led to a virtual explosion of knowledge concerning disease risks. Reliable databases over genetic variation derived from, e.g. the HUGO and HapMap projects, coupled with technological advances make large-scale genetic analyses and downstream bioinformatics suddenly affordable. Although recent prospective population-based biobanks have included DNA collection and purification in their planning, it is the older projects that currently are of greatest value due to the numbers of accumulated disease endpoints. In this chapter, methods to purify and use DNA derived from a variety of archival materials, including whole blood, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues, sera, dried blood spots (DBS), cervical cell suspensions, and mouthwash are presented and evaluated in a context of quality control guidelines to provide objective measure of the usefulness of various sample types for genetic epidemiology.