Maxwell RSC 48
Definition
Promega cartridge-based magnetic-bead extraction instrument. Each cartridge is pre-loaded with all reagents; closed-format processing eliminates cross-contamination. Used at FBI Laboratory and AFMES.
- Manufacturer
- Promega
- Extraction chemistry
- Magnetic-bead, cartridge-based
- Format
- Closed, pre-loaded reagent cartridges
- Notable users
- FBI Laboratory, AFMES
Common questions
What does the closed-cartridge format protect against?+
Because reagents are pre-loaded and sealed per sample, the instrument reduces the chance of cross-contamination between samples that can occur with open-well processing, which matters for high-throughput forensic casework.
How does this instrument compare to manual silica-column extraction?+
It automates the same underlying principle of binding and washing DNA, but the magnetic-bead cartridge format needs less hands-on time per sample and standardises the protocol, at the cost of flexibility to customise extraction chemistry.
Related terms
- Chaotropic Salt
- Guanidinium thiocyanate or hydrochloride at 4-6 M concentration. Disrupts the hydration shell of DNA and causes it to bind electrostatically to silica...
- Chelex-100
- Styrene-divinylbenzene ion-exchange resin with iminodiacetate chelating groups. Used at 5% w/v in forensic DNA extraction to bind divalent metal cations during boiling...
- Inhibition Index
- A quantitative measure of PCR inhibitor burden in a DNA extract, derived from the Ct shift of an internal positive control (IPC)...
- Phenol-Chloroform-Isoamyl Alcohol (PCI) Extraction
- Organic extraction method using differential solubility to partition DNA into an aqueous phase while proteins and lipids accumulate at the organic-aqueous interface...
- QIAcube Connect
- QIAGEN robotic workstation that automates spin-column extraction protocols (QIAamp DNA Investigator). Processes 12 samples per 60-minute run; used in UK, US and...