TE damage to DNA

[corboy at utdallas.edu]

Julie Drawbridge (jdraw at pucc.princeton.edu) wrote:
> Well, I know that if Tris is heated (especially to boiling) the 
> buffering capacity is shot and the pH will shift dramatically... I 
> believe this would cause autocatalysis, if not outright depurination 
> or denaturation... just a guess

	What about autoclaving Tris solutions? Obviously the pH of a Tris 
solution is very sensitive to temperature, but I don't see how heating 
the Tris would permanently damage it, considering that an autoclave heats 
the solution well above the boiling point.  Unfortunately I didn't see 
the original post, so I don't know what the original problem was.  The 
most common problem with DNA damage in a TE solution is contamination 
with a nuclease.  DNA autocatalysis is not a problem, unlike RNA alkaline 
hydrolysis, because DNA doesn't have the 2' attacking OH.  

Michael J. Corboy
University of Texas at Dallas