Extracting Dna Strands from Saliva’s Cheek Cells Using Saline Solution, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, and Ethanol.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION

University of the Philippines – Manila

P. Sevilla St., Corner 10th Avenue, Caloocan City

A Proposal

In Chemistry 14.1

Entitled:

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Extracting DNA strands from saliva’s cheek cells using Saline Solution, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, and Ethanol.

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Submitted By:

TCD2

Submitted To:

Mr. Yevgeny Dulla

I. Introduction

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is found inside the nucleus of a cell in tight bundles called chromosomes and contains all of our genetic information. Every cell in the human body, except red blood cells, has DNA. Unless you are an identical twin, no one else in the world has the same genetic information as you.

The structure of DNA is a double helix with alternating sugar and phosphate along the sides. DNA is made up of four building blocks or nucleotides (adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine) which are arranged in pairs along very long strands. The human genome (complete set of DNA) has about 3 billion nucleotides. The order of the nucleotides in a DNA strand is a sequence.

Each person in the world has a unique sequence. We are all 99.9% the same; but our uniqueness is found in 0.1% of our DNA sequence. This uniqueness in our DNA sequence is what sets us apart from each other. Our DNA can be broken down into smaller parts called genes that are the hereditary units passed from parent to child.

In order to study DNA, researchers must collect samples from people. One of the best DNA samples is saliva because it contains mouth and cheek cells. There are many different ways to get saliva for DNA testing. Saliva can be found on a phone after a conversation, on licked envelopes, toothbrushes, and anything else that may come in daily contact with your saliva and/or mouth.

There are many reasons why scientists use DNA to...