SDS Removal Composition Using Salt and Halocarbon Extraction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for removing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) from aqueous solutions are inefficient and often require additional steps, such as dilution or concentration, which can complicate downstream applications like PCR and sequencing.
Innovation Solution
A composition and method using a combination of a salt, a water immiscible alcohol, and a halocarbon to form a two-phase mixture, where SDS is effectively removed to barely detectable levels (<0.01% wt/vol) in a single step.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional ethanol precipitation or dilution methods are used to remove SDS, then nucleic acids can be recovered, but additional steps are required and SDS removal is incomplete, complicating downstream applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts SDS from the aqueous solution by adding a water-immiscible organic solvent that selectively solubilizes SDS, forming a separate organic phase that can be removed. This directly removes the harmful substance (SDS) from the system in a single extraction step, eliminating the need for multiple precipitation and centrifugation steps while achieving complete SDS removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the solubility parameters of SDS by introducing an organic solvent with specific properties (water-immiscible, SDS-solubilizing). This parameter change causes SDS to transition from being water-soluble to being preferentially soluble in the organic phase, enabling efficient separation. The specific parameter changed is the solvent system composition, which controls SDS distribution between phases.
2Reliability
If SDS is used to denature proteins and stabilize nucleic acids, then nucleic acid extraction is improved, but SDS inhibits enzyme-dependent reactions in downstream applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful property of SDS (its persistence in solution and enzyme inhibition) into a beneficial separation mechanism. By exploiting SDS's amphiphilic nature and its ability to form micelles, the invention uses SDS's own properties to drive its selective partitioning into the organic phase, where it can be removed. The harm (SDS stability) becomes the benefit (SDS solubility in organic phase).
Solution Approach 2:
The water-immiscible organic solvent acts as an intermediary substance that mediates the removal of SDS. This intermediary phase accepts SDS from the aqueous phase without requiring direct interaction between SDS and the final nucleic acid product, thus eliminating enzyme inhibition while preserving nucleic acid integrity.
3Reliability
If multiple purification steps are performed to remove SDS, then SDS concentration is reduced, but time and productivity are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the SDS removal function with the nucleic acid purification process into a single integrated step. By combining the extraction of SDS with the concentration/purification of nucleic acids in one operation, the method achieves both goals simultaneously rather than requiring separate steps, thus improving productivity without sacrificing removal completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by adding the organic solvent directly to the crude lysate containing SDS, nucleic acids, and proteins. This preliminary extraction step removes SDS before any subsequent purification steps, preventing SDS from interfering with later processes and eliminating the need for corrective remediation steps.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method achieves highly efficient removal of SDS, allowing the resulting aqueous phase to be used directly in downstream applications without significant inhibition, as demonstrated by successful PCR and sequencing results.
Implementation Method 1
mixing the aqueous solution with: a salt; a water immiscible alcohol of Formula I... and a water immiscible halocarbon... to form a two-phase mixture, wherein substantially all of the detergent is in the non-aqueous phase
Implementation Method 2
mixing the aqueous solution with: a salt; a water immiscible alcohol... and a water immiscible halocarbon... to form a two-phase mixture
Data Source
AI summary
A system, composition, method and kit for removing a detergent, such as an anionic detergent, from an aqueous solution, comprising a salt, a water immiscible alcohol of Formula I:R1—OH (Formula I)where R1 is an optionally substituted, linear, branched or cyclic C4-C12 alkyl; anda water immiscible halocarbon, wherein said halocarbon is miscible with said alcohol of Formula I. The system can be used on aqueous solutions that contain detergents (such as Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS), for example), and any detergent-associated or detergent-bound molecules that may be present in the aqueous solution, to form an aqueous phase and a non-aqueous phase, for effectively removing the detergent and any detergent-associated or detergent-bound molecules, and sequestering them into the non-aqueous phase.