The DNeasy mericon Food Kit uses improved cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) extraction of total cellular nucleic acids.
The nonionic detergent CTAB is widely used for efficient extraction of total cellular nucleic acids from a wide range of tissue types. Depending on the salt conditions, CTAB may complex with cellular nucleic acids (low-salt conditions) or complex with cellular inhibitors, such as polysaccharides, proteins, and plant metabolites (high-salt conditions; as found in the Food Lysis Buffer).
With fewer workflow steps than conventional CTAB protocols, up to 30 samples can be processed in 2.5 hours (see Figure "Efficient and rapid DNA extraction"). DNA recovery with these kits is demonstrably high and efficient.