title: Homogenization with heat treatment: A cost effective alternative to nucleic acid extraction for herpes simplex virus real-time PCR from viral swabs.
abstract: Most laboratories use expensive commercial kits to purify nucleic acids and remove PCR inhibitors that may be present in clinical specimens. In this study a simple homogenization with heat treatment of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV-1/2) was shown to be equivalent to commercial kit-based nucleic acid extraction methods. With a cost of less than $1 USD per extraction, this method provides an economical, rapid, and effective method to recover HSV-1/2 DNA from swabs suitable for real-time HSV PCR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Queen Elizabeth II Health Science Center, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. jason.leblanc@cdha.nshealth.ca
authors.forename: Jason J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: LeBlanc
authors.forename: Charles R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Heinstein
authors.forename: Todd F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Hatchette
mesh_terms: D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000821:virology; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000235:genetics*; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral