Deoxyribonucleic acid, commonly known as DNA, is the most important molecule that contains the genetic material of all cellular creatures and most viruses. It was first discovered in the second half of the XIX century by a Swiss scientist called Friedrich Miescher. In 1869, he was able to isolate nucleine, that later became known as nucleic acid, from the cells found in the sperm of salmon (1, 2, 3, 15).

      The discovery and the very first extraction of deoxyribonucleic acid marked a significant breakthrough in Science, and soon humans have put DNA to work in a wide variety of applications. Due to its clear and unique sequence, it is used to help to find the perpetrators of the crimes and to excuse innocent people before they become suspects (4, 7, 8). Furthermore, the information encoded on the DNA can be used to identify the infectious agents quickly, which is the principal goal of public health (4, 26). The extracted DNA strands are also used to modify certain cereals, such as wheat, which helps farmers to obtain fruitful crops and to feed the continuously increasing population (4, 5, 6).

      Due to the growing importance of DNA in our daily lives, the extraction process is performed in many High Schools for educational purposes. The procedure, however, requires the use of some expensive chemicals on which schools need to spend parts of their budgets. Nevertheless, those chemicals can be replaced by other, much simpler and cheaper liquids: household detergents .

     The purpose of the experiment performed was to test the effectiveness of three distinct, commonly used cleaners – a dishwashing liquid, a laundry detergent, and a shampoo – during a DNA extraction process from a sample of kiwi fruit. By finding a cheap, yet effective method of isolating DNA, we can reduce the money spent by many school on purchasing complex chemicals.
 

DNA molecule