Assessment of DNA encapsulation, a new room-temperature DNA storage method.

A new procedure for room-temperature storage of DNA was evaluated whereby DNA samples from human tissue, bacteria, and plants were stored under an anoxic and anhydrous atmosphere in small glass vials fitted in stainless-steel, laser-sealed capsules (DNAshells (R)). Samples were stored in DNAshells (R) at room temperature for various periods of time to assess any degradation and compare it to frozen control samples and those stored in GenTegra (TM) tubes. The study included analysis of the effect of accelerated aging by using a high temperature (76 degrees C) at 50% relative humidity. No detectable DNA degradation was seen in samples stored in DNAshells (R) at room temperature for 18 months. Polymerase chain reaction experiments, pulsed field gel electrophoresis, and amplified fragment length polymorphism analyses also demonstrated that the protective properties of DNAshells (R) are not affected by storage under extreme conditions (76 degrees C, 50% humidity) for 30 hours, guaranteeing 100 years without DNA sample degradation. However, after 30 hours of storage at 76 degrees C, it was necessary to include adjustments to the process in order to avoid DNA loss. Successful protection of DNA was obtained for 1 week and even 1 month of storage at high temperature by adding trehalose, which provides a protective matrix. This study demonstrates the many advantages of using DNAshells (R) for room-temperature storage, particularly in terms of long-term stability, safety, transport, and applications for molecular biology research.