[Nhcoll-l] Use of denatured ethanol for short term storage of molecular samples

Fri Apr 19 22:38:37 EDT 2019

Many senior but dead Royal Naval officers were pickled in rum for the trip home, and many arrived in bad shape as the lower ranks had surreptitiously siphoned it off and replaced it with water. I believe there was actually a term for this.

PC

Paul Callomon
Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates
________________________________
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia
callomon at ansp.org Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170

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From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of John E Simmons <simmons.johne at gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, April 19, 2019 10:07 PM
To: Peter H Wimberger
Cc: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Use of denatured ethanol for short term storage of molecular samples

Caution: This message came from outside of Drexel. Do not click links or attachments unless you expected this email.

You can preserve things in almost any strong liquor. Historically, rum was often used and somewhat more famously, Admiral Lord Nelson was preserved in brandy after he was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. I have used aguardiente for preserveration several times in Latin America.

Particularly for DNA samples, buy the purest, strongest alcohol you can. Everclear sold in the US is good. Depending on which state you buy it in, it may be as high as 190 proof (95%), 151 proof (75.5%), or 120 proof (670%). As far as I have been able to determine, it does not have any additives to it (it is distilled from grain). Avoid anything with coloring in it and gin (which is loaded with botanical ingredients) if possible. If you can't get Everclear, get a grain-based vodka without any flavoring in it. If using low proof (below 190) with a low ratio of fluid-to-tissue, I recommend changing for fresh liquor after 24 hr as it will be diluted by the water extracted from the tissues.

--John

John E. Simmons
Writer and Museum Consultant
Museologica
and
Associate Curator of Collections
Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery
Penn State University
and
Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia
Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima

On Fri, Apr 19, 2019 at 7:51 PM Peter H Wimberger <pwimberger at pugetsound.edu<mailto:pwimberger at pugetsound.edu>> wrote:

I agree with Dean.  Have used absinthe for mussels as well – it was expensive, but I was in a pinch, and it was the highest proof around.  Transferred to 95% EtOH when back in the lab after a few days and DNA extraction, PCR and sequencing worked fine.  Absinthe arguably should be worse for the DNA than Everclear, but it worked.

PW

From: Nhcoll-l [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu>] On Behalf Of Dean Pentcheff
Sent: Friday, April 19, 2019 11:50 AM
To: Nick Cairns <nacairns at gmail.com<mailto:nacairns at gmail.com>>; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu<mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] Use of denatured ethanol for short term storage of molecular samples

We have had excellent results on Sanger sequencing (haven't tried genomic) using Everclear (high-proof drinking alcohol). Specimens were preserved in Everclear, then transferred to 95% ethanol a few days later. These were small freshwater crustaceans (aquatic isopods).

I'd be more inclined to go towards drinkable alcohol rather than denatured alcohol — if it's safe for human consumption, there probably isn't too much bioactive chemistry going on (other than the ethanol itself).

-Dean
--
Dean Pentcheff
pentcheff at gmail.com<mailto:pentcheff at gmail.com>

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On Thu, Apr 18, 2019 at 2:04 PM Nick Cairns <nacairns at gmail.com<mailto:nacairns at gmail.com>> wrote:

Hello everyone,

I'm seeking guidance on reagents. I'm trying to collect chorus frogs from across western Canada (whole and toe clips). These samples will be likely be extracted using phenol/chloroform then ethanol (EtOH) precipitation to tidy them up. Downstream they'll be used for mtDNA (Sanger) and genomic (ddRAD) protocols. The issue is, I am currently in rural Saskatchewan and only have denatured EtOH (Fisherbrand Histoprep 95%) available to me.  I understand that the additives in some denatured EtOH can cause issues downstream but has anyone ever used it for short term storage then replaced it later with anhydrous to remove the additives? Can these additives be reduced from the tissues after the fact?

Any insights would be most welcome.

Thank you,

Nick

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