Development of Sorbents for Extraction and Stabilization of Nucleic Acids

Abstract : This effort focused on development of a combined storage and delivery system intended to offer much-needed stability to biomolecules, especially DNA and RNA. The goal was to provide stabilization methods for reagents and targets in order to allow for a wider range of applications through utilization of organized porous materials as scaffolds for their encapsulation. This report details the synthesis of solid support materials, selection of stabilization components, and development of methods for their application. Design considerations focused on control of interactions with the nucleic acids that result in degradation. Over the course of the effort, the potential for adsorption of RNA, DNA, and ssDNA onto porous organosilicate sorbents with and without additional stabilizing reagents was demonstrated. Improved binding capacities were achieved with sorbents using chemical functionalities rather than proteins and sugars. These sorbents were found to provide similar improvements in stability to the traditional stabilization compounds. The materials were further shown to provide capture and subsequent stabilization of targets from a complex solution.